BANGALORE: The Karnataka Government is thinking of introducing amendments to the Karnataka Urban Development Act and the Municipal Corporations Act to enable joint ventures in housing projects for the poor.

Sources in the Government told The Hindu here on Wednesday that it would be a quid pro quo arrangement between the Government and private housing companies in building houses for the poor.

The proposal is identical to what has been done in Mumbai where housing projects for the poor, particularly slum dwellers, are being implemented in a big way. To enable joint venture in housing schemes, it is imperative for the State Government to amend some of these Acts and this is likely to be set in motion during the coming session of the legislature.

Meanwhile, the authorities concerned, on the directions of the Minister for Housing D.T. Jayakumar, have commenced a survey of slums and the extent of land that they have occupied to enable the Government to arrive at a scheme that would be beneficial to slum dwellers and private housing companies that will construct apartments. Yet another interesting feature of the scheme will be the involvement of the representatives of slum dwellers and even non-governmental organisations.

What has come as a boon to slum dwellers and also the Government in providing houses to the houseless (by replacing thatched huts with concrete structures) has been the horizontal growth of slums in Bangalore, which is akin to what has happened in Mumbai.

Interestingly, a large number of slums in Bangalore are located in the city centre where land prices have increased in the recent years. For instance, the land value of some of the huts (10 feet by 10 feet) in Gandhinagar area has been estimated at over Rs. 10 lakh, although the occupants cannot sell the land as they have no documents.

Mr. Jayakumar said the Government had worked out a long-term plan to ensure permanent housing to the houseless and the site-less in another 10 years.

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