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Comprehensive development plan for Puducherry

Special Correspondent

"It will involve Rs. 1,365-crore outlay"

Puducherry: Health and Housing Minister E. Valsaraj has said that the comprehensive city development plan prepared by the administration for Puducherry to meet its most urgent infrastructure requirements` has been almost finalised. The plan would involve an outlay of Rs. 1,365 crore, he noted.

Participating in the meeting of the Ministers for Housing on the national consultation on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) held in New Delhi on Saturday, Mr. Valsaraj pointed out that the component schemes of the plan were being prioritised and immediate fiscal requirement in the first phase would be Rs.542 crore.

He referred to the ambitious project the administration was mulling to develop Tirunallar in Karaikal into a temple town. It had been attracting lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country. The administration had launched a unique scheme to provide housing subsidy of Rs. 1 lakh to each of the families living in huts to enable them to convert them into concrete structures.

So far 22,500 families were covered under this scheme. During 2007-2008, the Government proposed to provide the subsidy to 10,000 more families.

Taking all these requirements, a comprehensive development plan was conceived with an outlay of Rs.1,365 crore, he said. He made out a case for higher assistance to municipalities with lesser population. He said that the floating population coming into Puducherry from adjacent States and the flow of tourists together put the influx at 1.5 lakh a day.

He sought liberal grants from the Union Urban Development Ministry to Puducherry.

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