World Bank injects $500-mn in affordable housing

The World Bank has agreed to extend technical assistance to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in integrating affordable housing with existing land under the master pan. The Bank has cleared $500-million assistance for building 40,000 homes for the urban poor. The initiative is aimed at strengthening Tamil Nadu's urban housing sector and institutions and enabling private sector participation in the affordable section, along with technical assistance for assessment of the likely impact of densification of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, by accommodating higher floor space index, particularly in the proposed pilot of the affordable housing in Perumbakam where 1,152 tenements are being built. Under the project, the Centre will provide ₹33-crore of financial aid, that is, ₹3.5 lakh per tenement. The state will also provide a grant of ₹5 lakh while the beneficiary will have to contribute ₹1 lakh per tenement of 400 sqft.