(a) whether the housing schemes undertaken in all the States are running behind schedule;
(b) if so, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Government is contemplating to set up a monitoring committee to review the progress of all the ongoing housing schemes; and
(d) if so, the time by which the said committee is likely to be set up?
THE MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION (KUMARI SELJA)
(a) and (b): Reviews of housing schemes of the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) components of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRUM) undertaken by the Ministry reveal that in some States the projects are having time overruns.
The reasons for the projects running behind schedule, among other things are as under:
(a) Delays in issue of work order/starting of works due to non- response to tenders.
(b) Problems of lands being made available for construction due to beneficiaries not willing to shift to temporary accommodation outside slums in the case of in-situ projects.
(c) Lack of capacity at Urban Local Body/Implementing agency level for project execution/management/quality control.
(d) Cost escalation in case of projects already started.
(c) and (d): The Government has set up a Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee at the Central level to sanction, review and monitor the progress of housing and related infrastructure projects under BSUP and IHSDP. Further the Government has also issued an advisory to all the States/Union Territories to notify a Review and Monitoring Committee comprising of Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assembly at District level to review and monitor the progress of urban poverty alleviation programmes of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.