By IANS,
Kochi : Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja Thursday said the share of the private sector in infrastructure development is expected to go up to 50 percent of the total outlay during the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP) period.
“The total outlay for infrastructure is pegged at 1,025 billion US dollars for the 12th FYP – an increase of 100% over the previous plan. Private participation, which was 30 per cent in the last plan period, will rise to 50 percent of the total outlay,” the minister said, stressing that the public-private partnership mode was the only solution for the problems of infrastructure.
The minister said that the central government has been mulling over the setting up of a National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) to address the problems of the urban poor. She pointed out that 40 percent of the total population of the country would be in urban centres by 2030.
She said the government would adopt the twin strategy of rehabilitating slum dwellers and providing affordable housing to the urban poor.
The NULM would address urban poverty through upgradation of skills, promotion of entrepreneurship and generation of employment, the minister said.
Kumari Selja was speaking at the plenary session on ‘Bridging the Infrastructure Gap: Role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to Spur Growth’ at the three-day Emerging Kerala investor meet inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Wednesday.