Rs 4 lakh-crore investment to transform urban areas: Naidu

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, May 23

Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu today said the Central Government had approved an investment of over Rs 4 lakh crore under the new urban transformation mission across the country.

This investment was four times more than the amount approved in the past 10 years, Naidu said, adding the Centre’s focus was on providing more resources to urban local bodies.

Despite challenges in urban planning and governance, capacities of urban local bodies and inefficient financial and resource management, the Central Government had already approved the construction of 18.70 lakh affordable houses with an investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore, he claimed. Earlier, Naidu reviewed the Centre-sponsored schemes in Rajasthan with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and handed to her a cumulative Central grant’s release order of Rs 206 crore.

Naidu said Rajasthan was now among the 11 states in the country implementing all six urban missions, including the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) with the inclusion of Ajmer.