Centre will come up with NULM policy soon, says Maken

Hyderabad: The Central Government would soon come up with a new policy of National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) to alleviate poverty in urban areas, Union Minister Ajay Maken said in Hyderabad on Friday. Maken, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, is on a two-day visit to the Andhra Pradesh capital to study and review the urban poverty alleviation programmes in urban areas implemented by the state government.

He visited the Indra Nagar Slum at Kapra Municipality in Hyderabad and interacted with Urban Self Help Groups and Town Level, Slum Level Federation Members and also the office of Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA), an official release said. The minister reviewed the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) programmes and interacted with the women members. He said he was impressed by the way women members belonging to slum areas have been organised.

The model developed by Government of Andhra Pradesh can be replicated in the entire country for the empowerment of women and Socio-Economic development of the families of poor people living in urban areas, the release said. The Centre would pass a legislation in ensuing Parliament session on Street Vendors Livelihoods Protection to benefit 95 lakh street vendors in the country. The street vendors will be provided free vending places of 2.5 per cent of the urban areas and they will be supported with financial linkage through the banks and protection given to make business without any harassment, the minister said.

Another important programme of the Centre will be Rajiv Awas Yojana, under which urban infrastructure will be developed and housing provided to the occupants in the slum areas, the Union Minister said during the interaction. Andhra Pradesh Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development M Maheedhar Reddy highlighted the number of steps taken for urban poverty alleviation and requested the Union Minister to support the state by allocating required funds for effective implementation of Rajiv Awas Yojana and other programmes, the release added.