Slum-dwellers to get land title deeds in Karnataka

BANGALORE: Karnataka Cabinet today cleared a policy seeking to give land title deeds to slum-dwellers, remove hurdles in constructing dwelling units in such areas and provide minimum infrastructure there.

Slum population in Karnataka is about 40 lakh, living in 2,722 slums in government and private land, Law and Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar said in a press briefing after a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda.

This includes 597 slums in Bangalore, where 15 lakh people live.

The aim of the policy is to make the State slum-free, and the Government would strive to achieve the goal in five to eight years, he said. The policy envisages providing of quality dwelling units and minimum infrastructure such as electricity, drinking water and roads.

As much as 22 per cent of the population in urban areas of the State live in backward and slum areas, the Minister said.

Suggestions of the Union Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation have been incorporated in the policy, which is also aimed at preventing creation of new slums, Suresh Kumar said