In the backdrop of the city being taken up for development into a Smart City, slum-dwellers have demanded that they be told of their place in the scheme of things. At a meeting organised by the Campaign for Housing and Tenural Rights (CHATRI) and ARTD (Urban) here on Monday, former Union Energy Secretary E.A.S. Sarma said slum-dwellers should get their due share in the funds that were obtained for smart city.
He said before a plan was worked out by the government, slum-dwellers should list their problems and suggest solutions within the framework of in situ development of slums. Their fair share should come as a matter of right but not as gratis or munificence.
Speakers mentioned the problems faced by the shifting of Sevanagar residents to Kommadi without amenities.Project Director of Housing Rights Network Maria Soosai, recalling the slum development in Hyderabad and Warangal, called for similar steps here. ARTD (Urban) Secretary Pragada Vasu detailed the changing priorities of the government since the First Five-Year Plan.
He said Hazards India of New Delhi, headed by Dunu Roy, wanted to prepare an alternative plan for Anakapalle or Vizianagaram. Activist Narava Prakasa Rao and journalist M. Yugandhar Reddy spoke.
