This was revealed by the Union Urban Development Minister Ram Jethmalani on Sunday who says that his priorities will be to fulfil the promises made in the manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The criminal lawyer, who had earlier held the law portfolio in the 13-day BJP government in 1996, said that the abolition of the Urban Land Ceiling Act which was imminent would make more land available for construction purposes in the cities. This in turn would result in the real estate prices in the metros coming down within easy reach of the common man, he added.

The minister observed that the bureaucratic red-tapism takes almost seven to eight years for giving various sanctions and clearing plans for legitimate construction work, while one can build a house in a Mumbai slum in as less as three days. ``Ina slum no plans are to be passed, no permission or no objections required, no taxes to be paid and hence people prefer to go in for this cheap unlawful houses rather than lawfully constructed houses which are comparatively very expensive,'' he added. This in turn poses a burden on the urban infrastructure like water supply, drainage, access roads, fire safety and other amenities, the minister observed.

He also said the funds from private sector and various international agencies would be encouraged to set up the infrastructure for water supply and drainage system for the entire slums in the affected cities. Jethmalani further pointed out that the reduction in housing prices would also eliminate the black money factor involved in property transactions in the major metros of the country.