Speaking on the occasion of the World Habitat Day today, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja emphasised on the steps being taken by the government to make it more inclusionary for the poor.
"The current paradigm of urban planning is based on the anachronistic concept of static Master Planning. This planning process has proved to be exclusionary. Even though more than 80 per cent of the population in our cities belong to poor and low-income groups yet these master plans are based on the space requirement norms of the average middle class residents," Selja said.
She pointed out that the Master Plans have failed to provide space for shelter and livelihoods to the poorer urban communities and insisted that there is a need for complete overhaul in the system.
Enumerating the various measures being taken by her ministry to improve the situation, Selja said her ministry is motivating and prodding the state governments to modify the planning model to that of transportation-led inclusionary planning.
The government has also introduced in Parliament the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012 to help the poor fight poverty through self-enterprise and to earn their living without harassment. (MORE)