The Andhra Pradesh government has come out with an ambitious plan to transform congested urban settlements by taking redevelopment involving the private sector on the lines of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai, officials familiar with the development said.
A key feature of the model is that instead of relying entirely on conventional government funding, the successful private bidder will undertake redevelopment against Transferable Development Rights (TDR). Significantly, the state government has directed GVMC to execute the Velampeta redevelopment in a time-bound manner and treat it as a pilot project for replication in other slum pockets under the Visakhapatnam Economic Region Programme. In the coming years, the model will be expanded to all major cities in the state.
A government order issued by Suresh Kumar, principal secretary, municipal administration and urban development on August 7 said the new redevelopment model for slums would be implemented on a pilot basis in the Velampeta slum in Visakhapatnam. As per the government order, the state government has accorded permission to the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to redevelop the Velampeta slum located in Zone-IV of ward No 35 under the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) Programme on a Design, Build, Finance and Transfer (DBFT) basis.
“The Andhra Pradesh government, too, proposes to leverage the value of development rights to create modern housing for existing residents while minimising the direct financial burden on the exchequer,” Suresh Kumar said. “The project will accommodate 177 housing units on a compact site measuring just 1,986.45 sq metres, through construction of a high-rise residential complex of up to 45 metres,” the GO said. “The state government has also directed the commissioner and director of municipal administration to prepare a draft policy for slum redevelopment and middle-class housing, in consultation with all stakeholder departments,” Suresh Kumar said.
