Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)

In News

• Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs approved project proposals for over 60,000 houses across five states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban(PMAY-U)

• Launched on 25th June 2015 and addresses urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG categories including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to all eligible urban households by the year 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
• Implemented by: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• PMAY(U) adopts a demand-driven approach wherein the Housing shortage is decided based on demand assessment by States/Union Territories. 
• Coverage:  

• The Mission covers the entire urban area consisting of Statutory Towns, Notified Planning Areas, Development Authorities, Special Area Development Authorities, Industrial Development Authorities or any such authority under State legislation that is entrusted with the functions of urban planning & regulations. 

• Features: 

                                                       Image Courtesy:pmay-urban.gov.in

• COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a reverse migration of urban migrants/ poor in the country. Urban migrants stay in slums/ informal settlements/ unauthorised colonies/ peri-urban areas to save costs on housing.
  • Therefore, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has initiated Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs), a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). 

• Components:
  • The scheme has hence been divided into four verticals as given below:

•  In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR)

• Central Assistance of Rs. 1 lakh per house is admissible for all houses built for eligible slum dwellers under the component of ISSR using land as a Resource with the participation of private developers. 

• Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS):
  • Beneficiaries of Economically Weaker Section (EWS)/Low Income Group (LIG), Middle Income Group (MIG)-I seeking housing loans from Banks are eligible for an interest subsidy of 6.5%, 4% and 3% on loan amounts up to Rs. 6 Lakh, Rs. 9 Lakh and Rs. 12 Lakh respectively. 

• Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP):
  • Under AHP, Central Assistance of Rs. 1.5 Lakh per EWS house is provided by the Government of India. 
  • An affordable housing project can be a mix of houses for different categories but it will be eligible for Central Assistance, if at least 35% of the houses in the project are for the EWS category. 

Progress 

• Issues 
  • PMAY-U’s Credit Linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) component offers interest rate subvention on housing loans borrowed by the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), low and middle-income groups. 
    • However, the subvention amount is insufficient for private housing in major urban centres of tier-I cities.

• The government-driven EWS projects are mainly located in the periphery of cities, far away from the city’s key economic centres.

• These places are marked by a general lack of transport connectivity and other infrastructure facilities. This combination results in a lack of takers for these housing units.

• Slum redevelopment and EWS projects have made little progress for lack of private sector interest. 
• It is witnessing pandemic-induced hiccups with less than 50 per cent of the homes sanctioned being completed in the urban areas. 
  • The rural segment has fared better with a 65 percent completion rate.

Way Forward 

• PMAY-U is certainly filling an important gap in India on the affordable housing front. However, given the overall financial implications for India, measures are certainly needed to ensure prudence and seek permanent solutions.
• For maintaining an adequate supply of land, it is imperative that necessary changes in land-use change policies are introduced at the state level
• PMAY must be made accessible to more people and there should be increased awareness.
• New construction technologies, which are adaptable, sustainable and low cost, can be used for creating large-scale affordable housing at a rapid pace and reach out to a larger audience.
• The work should be done in a processed manner so that maximum benefits of the scheme reach the beneficiaries without any delay.

Source: IE