The SAARC Heads of States, in the fifth SAARC Summit held at Male in December, 1990declared 1991 as “SAARC Year of Shelter” to focus attention on and to arrive at appropriate policies, programmes and projects, which would help to attain the goal of shelter for all by the year 2000. The Male Declaration had recognised the imperative need for providing a better habitat to the people of South Asia through optimum utilisation of indigenous technology know-how and materials.
The provision of appropriate and affordable shelter is a common problem being faced by member countries of SAARC. The SAARC countries have taken major initiatives in taking up programmes for solving the housing problem in urban and rural areas. India has taken up a number of successful projects for cost effective and yet aesthetic housing through qualitative planning and design inputs and use of transfer mechanism for appropriate building materials and technologies through Building Centres. The Government of India is determined to implement vigorously the Draft National Housing Policy of 1988 arid is taking a series of legal and other initiatives to create a congenial environment for housing activity. The Government of India is assisting the State Governments in various ways to augment the housing stock for the poor, the significant schemes being night shelter for the homeless, liberation of scavengers and low cost sanitation in urban areas, Nehru Rozgar Yojana for the urban poor, Indira Awas Yojana for the rural landless and basic amenities for slum dwellers. Increased flow of housing finance is arranged through the National Housing Bank , HUDCO and a network of housing finance institutions. The Government has also announced a scheme for mobilising black money through the National Housing Bank for schemes of slum improvement and low income housing.
Against this background, a special postage stamp is being brought out to commemorate the SAARC Year of Shelter and to focus attention on the efforts of the Government to provide housing to different income groups.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India