The Gujarat government today announced new slum rehabilitation and development policy which prescribes the rules for private developers willing to develop slums on commercial basis.

The new policy promises a two room housing dwelling attached with bath room and a kitchen to each slum dweller family residing in the government identified slum areas for 10 years in the state.

The new policy was announced by the urban development minister Nitin Patel in the state assembly today.

As per the policy, the private player, who wants to develop the project, will be responsible for creating necessary infrastructure like community centre, school, roads, drainage, electricity, drinking water and other facilities in the area.

Patel, while announcing the policy in the state assembly, said that the government authorities like housing boards and local government bodies like municipalities, have not been able to provide housing facilities to the people migrating into the cities and therefore there is a need to encourage private developers and agencies to undertake such projects on commercial basis under the prescribed rules and norms. .

According to Patel, the private developer will get benefits like building commercial shops in 25 per cent of the total area in the ground floor and would be able to exchange higher FSI (floor space index) of one plot to another.

He added that the private developer will have to get all the clearances and approvals from the various state government agencies involved.

Patel said that the state government will issue detailed guidelines for the private developers.