Salia Sahi redevelopment plans in the pipeline

BHUBANESWAR: In what could possibly be one of the largest slum redevelopment and rehabilitation plans, the State Government has embarked on a project to change the face of Salia Sahi in the City.The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has sought developers who would evince interest in re-developing Salia Sahi, the biggest slum pocket, on the PPP mode. The slum is spread over 215 acres and the project looks at rehabilitating close to 70,000 people. The State Government, for long, has been looking to redevelop the slum, where the living conditions are below par, with a sound housing policy following the Rajiv Awas Yojana. The redevelopment plan will look at dwelling units, civic as well as recreational facilities for the original dwellers. “We are not looking at relocating anyone. The whole plan is to organise the slum, redevelop it and improve the civic conditions,” a senior officer of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. As per plans, if a housing project comes up at Salia Sahi, it can accommodate the population in just one-third of the area.BDA Vice-Chairman DK Singh said, no concrete plan has been drawn up yet. “We have floated the expression of interest (EoI) so that developers who have worked on similar projects would come in and provide us necessary feedback,” he said.The BDA is looking at the re-development through the public-private-partnership for effective utilisation of the area and sharing the investment. It is just not Salia Sahi that the Government is targeting to redevelop, the Niladri Vihar slum is also on its radar. Located in ward no. 9 of the City, it is located over 16.65 acre and has a population of 6,107. Salia Sahi, on the other hand, is much bigger and spread over two wards - 15 and 16. The land on which it is located has been classified in revenue records as forest land. “It will have to be de-reserved. Given the current status of the land, development pattern and absence of any semblance of forest, the process should not be difficult,” sources added. The project, if plans fall in place, will be a massive one given the magnitude of the rehabilitation. The BDA EoI looks at developers who have net worth of ` 200 crore or more by the end of the last fiscal.