BSUP scheme extended to Tirupati

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation on Friday agreed to include Tirupati among the five cities shortlisted for extension of the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme.

According to Ministry officials, as many as 63 cities were identified for coverage under the BSUP scheme which was launched in 2005.

Subsequently the programme has been extended to cities of Panchkula in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab, Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Porbandar in Gujarat. Requests for inclusion under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have been received from a number of cities.

Ministry officials also said that the Centre is not considering any extension of BSUP to other cities. The scheme of Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) has not identified any specific cities for inclusion.

It is upto the State Governments to choose cities for coverage under IHSDP subject to the limits of their allocation by the Planning Commission, the officials said.