President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that ensuring a roof over the head of every homeless Indian is "not easy" but efforts are on under a central scheme to provide shelter to all such people.
"As of 2012, housing shortage in urban India was 1.88 crore and growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent. It is expected to touch 3.4 crore dwelling units by 2022. But providing housing to all is not merely a slogan; through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the government is committed in this regard," the President said while distributing keys and ownership certificates for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) houses at a function here.
"It is indeed heartening to be present on the occasion when a number of residents, till now living in slum-like conditions, are being ensured houses of their own," an official release quoted him as saying.
Mukherjee said that earlier there was a slogan of "Roti Kapda aur Makan, Mang Raha Hai Hindustan (India demands bread, clothing and shelter)" but he would like to add two more requirements to this slogan - "shiksha' and 'swasthya (education and health)".
"Only when food, clothing and housing along with health and education are available to the people of the country can the growth of India be possible," he said.
The President also congratulated the Madhya Pradesh government of and the people of Gwalior for their city's selection for development under the 'Smart City Programme' of the central government.
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--IANS
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