Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 19: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) vice chairman Krishna Kumar Thursday backed the idea of preparing affordable housing schemes for the poor in city.
Addressing the ‘NextGen Cities’ event here Kumar said the government has been urged to keep at least 20-25 per cent of the land for affordable housing schemes for people from the low income groups who can buy dwelling units of less than Rs 5 lakh.
He stressed the importance of affordable housing. “About 75 per cent of city residents cannot afford a house and heavily depend on public transport system. We have to strengthen public transport for poor if we want to make Bhubaneswar a smart city,” Kumar said.
“Town planning cell would be shifted from BDA to BMC which would give a boost to overall development of the city,” he added.
Secretary-cum-commissioner of industries department Vishal K Dev said the government should bring an amendment to the property tax rules to raise the revenue pool of BMC.
“In order to realise the dream of a smart city, Bhubaneswar needs smart citizens too. Better the civic sense, the more beautiful will be the city with all modern amenities,” Dev said.
Dev expressed displeasure over crippling shortage of skilled manpower in BMC and BDA for the past 20 years which has made it difficult to ensure world class amenities in the city.
