VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind Transferable Development Rights (TDR)-backed in-situ slum redevelopment project at Velampeta in Visakhapatnam. This would help for 177 Economically Weaker Section (EWS) families to get permanent homes without being displaced from their neighbourhood. The project combines in-situ rehabilitation, vertical redevelopment of scarce urban land, public-private partnership and TDR as a financing tool. Suresh Kumar described Velampeta as an “urban reform pilot” rather than merely a housing project, integrating social housing, PPP participation, TDR financing and planning reforms. The government has also directed the commissioner and director of municipal administration to draft a policy on slum redevelopment and middle-class housing, using lessons from the project.