Patna, Sept. 28: Infamous for dirty and unhygienic clusters of makeshift shanties, slums in 28 cities would be provided with all basic civic services like any developed neighbourhood.

Moreover, foreign assistance is being utilised for the uplift of slums in these cities. The state urban development department and its support agency for this scheme — Department for International Development (DFID), government of UK — has made plans for the upgrade of around 1,845 slums in the state by providing basic civic amenities, including proper roads, community centres and drainage networks among others.

“We are working on plans for upgrade of 1,845 slums in 28 cities in Bihar, including Patna, Siwan, Chhapra, Motihari and Darbhanga among others. Upgrade would mean facilitating housing, provision of basic services like water supply, sewerage, toilets, streetlights, street-paving, storm-water drainage, collection and disposal of solid waste. Such works would be done in 550 slums in the 2011-12 fiscal. Total expenditure under this scheme would be around Rs 80 crore,” said Prem Kumar, the state urban development minister.

According to sources, the scheme would be implemented with the financial and technical support of Department for International Development.

The DFID has a six-year partnership with the urban development department and is undertaking support programme for urban reforms in Bihar. As part of the programme, the DFID has agreed to provide technical assistance in social development, poverty alleviation and livelihoods in 28 towns of Bihar. Moreover, urban development department is responsible for implementation of all such schemes.

Prem also informed that the proposed development of the slums would also be supported by Bihar state slum policy-2011 (draft), which would be notified by the department within a month.