Chandigarh:Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the Centre plans to construct over 15 lakh houses for the urban poor.

Inaugurating a Rs 2,400-crore housing project for slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city, Singh said he expects Chandigarh to become the first slum-free city in the country.

“I believe such important projects will give a new dimension to the country in its journey for becoming a a developed nation,” he said.

Rapid increase in urban population would put immense pressure on urban infrastructure in next couple of years, the Prime Minister said.

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Girija Vyas, Governors of Punjab and Haryana Shivraj Patil and Jagan Nath Pahadia, Chief Ministers of the two states Parkash Singh Badal and Bhupinder Singh Hooda and local Congress MP Pawan Bansal were among those present.