Setting a week-long deadline for submission of a requisite policy document, District Collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh on Thursday urged civic officials to expedite phase one construction of the housing project for slum dwellers.

He also sought the creation of a cohesive strategy to rid the city of slums, Singh was speaking to officials responsible for the planning of permanent housing for citizens under the Slum Rehabilitation Programme.

Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said they plan to divide the district into 9 clusters for the identification and survey of slums. They added that they have completed the survey of slums around Vallabh Bhavan as part of phase one of the plan.

Adopting the Public-Private Partnership model, the administration plans to provide permanent houses to slum dwellers.

Several prime residential projects are also in the planning stages under the Suraj Abhiyan (Good Governance Campaign) and the Redensification Policy. The Collector directed officials to promptly start construction work for the first phase and set a week-long deadline for the submission of a detailed project report on the design, planning policies, estimates, tender conditions, and all necessary preparations.

Singh instructed Municipal Commissioner Harendra Narayan and all SDMs to prepare a detailed plan to make Bhopal district slum-free and to expedite the implementation process. The Municipal Corporation was also directed to complete the tender process within a week and present it before the competent committee. All SDMs, engineers from the Urban Administration Department, and civic body officials attended the meeting, which focused on one of the pet projects of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.