Selangor low-cost houses to
cost more
04/03/2005 The Star
PETALING JAYA: Low-cost houses for squatters in Selangor will cost more
from next year when the state government ends its subsidy of about RM7,000
per unit.
Announcing this, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said the
houses would be sold at RM42,000 per unit instead of the RM35,000 offered
by the state government now.
He added that the state on an average spent about RM180mil a year on
low-cost housing subsidy.
After handing over keys to owners of the Impian Baiduri low-cost apartment
here yesterday, he said: ''I urge squatters to co-operate with the
authorities and immediately move to the houses provided.''
Dr Khir also advised squatters not to indiscriminately sell these houses
but instead to keep the property within the family.
''Don't sell the houses even though a high price is offered,'' he said.
About 1,300 squatter families were given keys to their Impian Baiduri
apartment yesterday.
Fourteen developers also received strata titles from Dr Khir.
Dr Khir estimated that at least 90% of the 46,994 squatter families in the
state would move to low-cost houses by December in line with the state
government's ''zero-squatter'' target by 2006.
He also instructed the Selangor Religious Affairs Department and local
authorities to buy low-cost houses and turn them into ''council homes'' to
house squatter families who could not afford to own low-cost houses.
''I think we can provide about 5,000 to 6,000 council homes by buying the
completed houses,'' he said.
According to the squatter growth data compiled by the Petaling Jaya
Municipal Council, there were 15,000 squatter families as of February this
year, with 9,000 families or 60% of them relocated to low-cost houses,
while the rest would move in July.
Based on the same data, 2,000 non-citizen squatter families would be moved
to council homes by June pending completion of the low-cost houses.
Their squatter colonies were demolished during Ops Helang in 2002. –Bernama |
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