The document summarizes several housing policies and schemes in West Bengal, including: 1) Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT) scheme from 1979-onwards to encourage growth in small towns. 2) Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) and Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) launched in 2005 to provide housing and infrastructure for slum dwellers. 3) Several other schemes like Gitanjali, Banglar Bari, Nijashree, and Nija Griha Nija Bhumi that provide subsidized or free housing to economically weaker sections, minorities, farmers and others.

1. HOUSING POLICIES
WEST BENGAL

2. Integrated development of small & medium
towns (IDSMT) 1979-central
• Two major strategies were chosen to face the situation i.e. decentralized urbanization and balanced urban
growth in India, which encourage the growth of small and medium towns.
• This scheme was sponsored by Central Government, under the 6th five-year plan.
• This program envisaged integrated development of about 231 small and medium towns having a population
of less than 100 thousand in 1971.
• Several State Government, have responded to the 'guide lines’ given by the central govt, and prepared
scheme for the integrated development of such towns and till today 156 projects have been sanctioned by
the Central Government.
• Investment in the development of small urban centres would help in reducing migration to large cities and
support the growth of surrounding rural areas as well.

3. • IDSMT Project started late in West Bengal due to some
organizational difficulties.
• Of the twenty selected small and medium towns, eleven
are district headquarters, seven are sub-divisional
headquarters, one is a large railway junction and another
is a temple town.
• Central assistance and State share provided under IDSMT
scheme to the local bodies is in the form of grant: State
Governments/Municipalities on 60(Central grant) :
40(state grant) basis

4. Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme
(IHSDP) + Basic Services To Urban Poor (BSUP) (2005)
-central
• IHSDP was launched in December 2005 to provide adequate shelter and basic infrastructure facilities to the
slum dwellers of identified urban area.
• The basic objective of the scheme is to strive for holistic slum development with a healthy and enabling
urban environment by providing adequate shelter and basic infrastructure facilities to the slum dwellers of
the identified urban areas.
• In West Bengal under IHSDP following steps are being taken:
 Housing for slum dwellers under BSUP and IHSDP.
 Target was to cover 2 lakh houses during the 11th Plan.
 76282 houses were sanctioned under BSUP and IHSDP.
 Propose to increase housing availability to urban poor by making mandatory construction of at least
15% of houses for EWS category in all housing complexes developed by Public /Private sector.

5. AMAR THIKANA
• The Government has given Special stress to mitigate the housing problem of the distressed and
deprived people for a long tenure.
• The objective of the Government is to construct fully subsidized residential houses for the
people belonging to Minority Community, Fishermen and people belonging to EWS in
Sundarban and Paschimanchal areas.
• In the course of implementing the scheme, the Department faced some problems like effective
monitoring as well as speedy and uniformity in implementation throughout the State of West
Bengal.
• To overcome this, with effect from 01st April,2014 "AMAR THIKANA" has been merged with "
GEETANJALI " through District Magistrates.

6. GITANJALI (2014)
• OBJECTIVES: to provide proper shelters, free of cost, to the poor, the Government in Housing Department
has laid proper focus on construction of houses for the Economically Weaker Section of people.
• Create additional employment opportunities for construction workers.
• The GITANJALI Scheme was re-casted on the pattern of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY).
• The houses would be constructed by beneficiaries themselves and no contacting agency were engaged for
the purpose.
• This scheme is being implemented in the rural areas, urban and non- Municipal urban areas in coordination
with seven other Government Departments under the name of ‘Gitanjali’.
• Departments executing the scheme ‘Gitanjali’ are:
 Fisheries Department
 Backward Classes Welfare Department
 Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education Department
 Forest Department
 Sundarban Affairs Department and
 Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs Department.

7. GITANJALI (cont.)
CATEGORY OF BENIFICIARIES:
• Poor people in rural and Urban area.
• Poor people in Erosion/Flood/ Other calamity affected/ Disaster prone areas.
• Poor people affected by government Projects (As per of rehabilitation measures).
AREA:
• The dwelling unit was in the IAY pattern. District Authority was providing a low cost
toilet in every case.

8. WEST BENGAL BANGLAR BARI SCHEME (2017)
• The Bengal Government has introduced the ‘Banglar Bari’ project to provide flats to people living below
poverty line (BPL) in municipality areas, one flat each.
• The government has decided to build four-storied buildings in municipal areas to ensure permanent shelter
to people from financially weaker sections.
• The buildings will be constructed by the State Urban Development Agency (SUDA).
• The project will immensely benefit people in the BPL category in urban areas under different municipalities.
• Each floor of a four-storied complex had four flats, with each 1BHK flat being of approximately 300 square
feet.
• This is the second housing scheme by the Bengal government, after the hugely successful Gitanjali scheme.

9. HOUSING SCHEMES UNDER BACKWARD
REGION GRANT FUND (BRGF)
• Construction work of houses has been proposed under Special Grant from BRGF for
construction of 34,758 dwelling units in 11 backward districts of the state - (Purulia, Paschim
Medinipur, Purba Medinipur, Bankura, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, South 24- parganas, Malda,
Mursidabad, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur) including LWE (Left Wing Extremist) areas.
• The area of these dwelling houses will be 20 SQ.M i.e. 215 SQ.FT Families enlisted under BPL
category will be eligible for the above scheme 6.

10. NIJASHREE (2019)
• The scheme envisages the construction of dwelling units of minimum 16 flats in a block of G+3 buildings on
the government lands, lands of local bodies and other parastatals.
• 1BHK flats with a minimum built-up area of 35.15 SQ.M (378 SQ.FT), will be constructed for the LIG category
and 2BHK flats, having a minimum built-up area of 50.96 SQ.M (559 SQ.FT), will be constructed for MIG
category.
• The unit cost will be determined on the basis of the actual cost of construction of the superstructure,
substructure and internal infrastructure including sanitary and plumbing.
• No cost of land shall be taken into account while computing the unit cost. This freehold land will be treated
as a subsidy to the beneficiary.
• The unit cost and standard built-up area may vary depending on the location and quantum of the land
available, as well as the land development cost and the schedule of rates applicable to the area, all the time
of construction.
• The offsite infrastructure like the construction of internal roads , boundary wall , electrification, making of a
drainage system, installation of lights in the campus and water supply shall not be added in the cost of
Nijashree.

11. NIJA GRIHA NIJA BHUMI (2019)
• Purpose of the project: This is a unique multi-purpose project of homeless people of rural
Bengal.
• Under this project, ownership of five decimals of land per family of houseless agricultural
labourers, artisans and fishermen has been given. They will be able to build houses on this land
with different grants from the government and by the labour of their family members and they
can carry out farming or animal husbandry etc. on the land adjacent to the house.

12. OTHER HOUSING SCHEMES
• LIG AND MIG HOUSING SCHEME: The Housing Department decided to implement L.I.G. Housing Schemes
directly to solve the accommodation problem of the low income group people especially the Minority
People residing in urban areas.
• NIGHT SHELTER FOR PATIENT PARTIES: For the benefit of patient parties who have to stay back in the
hospitals due to emergency situation, facilities have been constructed for their overnight stay
• HOSTELS FOR WORKING WOMEN : In addition to the existing hostels where women working in Government,
semi-Government, private firms, MNCs are accommodated, 5 new hostels have come up.
• RENTAL HOUSING ESTATE : For the benefit of accommodation of State Government Employees in service,
new Rental Housing Estates have been constructed
• REHABILITATION SCHEME: To the affected persons in Raniganj Coalfield area. This department has
undertaken construction on a pilot basis – 116 nos. of flats for the people in the Coalfield area.
• AKANKSHA: For the benefit of Government Employees, 50,000 flats are proposed to be constructed at
different parts of West Bengal for transfer on ownership basis to them. On a pilot basis 422 flats have
already been allotted to the Government employees in Rajarhat.