Bhubaneswar, Sept. 6: The state housing and urban development department has come up with a standard operating procedure to ensure smooth completion of affordable housing projects for the city's urban poor.

The administration is stressing more on relocation and rehabilitation of slum dwellers while constructing houses for them on the same land. The standard operating procedure will be implemented for each such project here.

According to the plan, the city administration will shift eligible beneficiaries to transit accommodations, known as green field projects, built by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation at Niladri Vihar before demolishing the slums on the project sites. The new projects include the construction of new houses for the poor, followed by shifting of the slum dwellers to the complex (known as brown field projects).

The beneficiaries will first be surveyed by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. It will then verify that data with the city's census data of the urban poor or slum population. An eligible beneficiary should have been living in the slum for at least the past decade and have a valid Aadhaar card.

The civic body has already conducted a survey in the 25 slums on Janpath and come up with a list of about 5,000 eligible households.

The administration will provide a monthly rental assistance of Rs 2,000 to each household to shift to nearby locations during the construction period.

Besides, it will also release a one-time aid of Rs 30,000 towards shifting allowance for those households that cannot be accommodated in the transit locations. The households would be able to use the money to construct temporary structures in alternative sites during the project period.

According to the state government's Housing for All policy, there are seven models to ensure affordable housing in urban areas through seven types of public-private partnership. Depending on the land and the beneficiaries, the authorities take up appropriate models for timely execution of the new projects.

The ownership of the apartments will remain with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and the dwellings units will be allotted free of cost to the eligible beneficiaries.

The remaining 35 per cent area will be given to the private developer on lease. It will utilise the land for development of other housing and commercial projects.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the Housing for All programme was one of the most ambitious schemes in Odisha so far and they were committed to implement it.

'Many slum dwellers are reluctant to leave their dwellings. We need to pacify them and make them understand the benefits of quality accommodation,' said Jena.

He said they had already engaged a few voluntary organisations to raise awareness among slum dwellers about the benefits of the scheme and they have been successful.

'There are people who are mobilising the slum dwellers against the scheme. In reality, they need to understand that it will benefit them,' he said.