Aiming at empowering the urban poor with legal rights, UPA government is initiating steps to provide property entitlements to them.

"We will develop a model legal framework for consideration by states and Union Territories for according property rights to slum dwellers," said Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja in New Delhi on Wednesday while announcing 100-day plan of action for the ministry.

There are about 81 million urban poor or slum dwellers in the country as per the 2004-05 census.

Spelling out her action plan she said, "Ministry will formulate 'Rajiv Awas Yojana' for slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years.

Clarifying that the property rights means access to housing by the slum dwellers, she said the scheme will focus on according rights to those living in slums and states would provide basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities.

Now, we are proposing that master plans have to include reservation of land to build houses for the poor and also for their economic activities like street vending, she said.

Once the slum dwellers get the ownership right through legal process, they can leverage it for their further betterment, she said.

As per the plan, the property rights model will draw best practices both within and outside the country and be circulated to states to enable them to establish their own legal regulatory frameworks suiting local conditions.

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