Context:
A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to clarify how many of the 66 proposals received under the Affordable Rental Housing Scheme launched for the urban poor, especially migrant workers, during the COVID-19 pandemic have been approved by their respective local urban bodies.
Relevance:
GS II: Government Policies and Intervention
Dimensions of the Article:
- Overview of Affordable Rental Housing Scheme (ARHC)
- Beneficiaries of the ARHC Scheme
- Benefits of ARHCs
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY- U: Housing for All – Urban)
Overview of Affordable Rental Housing Scheme (ARHC)
- ARHC is a sub-scheme under the PM Awas Yojana – Urban program in India
- Under the scheme, existing government-funded housing complexes will be converted into ARHCs through Concession Agreements for a period of 25 years
- The concessionaire will be responsible for making the complexes livable by repairing and retrofitting rooms and filling in infrastructure gaps such as water, sanitation, and roads
- States and Union Territories will select the concessionaire through a transparent bidding process
- After 25 years, the complexes will revert back to the Urban Local Body (ULB) to begin the next cycle or be run on their own
Beneficiaries of the ARHC Scheme
- The scheme targets a wide range of migrants including those working in manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, domestic/commercial establishments, construction, and other sectors, as well as students and laborers from rural areas or small towns seeking better opportunities
Benefits of ARHCs
- Migrants often live in slums, informal/unauthorized colonies, or peri-urban areas to save on rental costs, but this often requires them to spend a lot of time and money on transportation to get to their places of work
- ARHCs provide affordable housing options in urban areas close to places of work, saving time and money on transportation and reducing congestion and pollution
- The investment in ARHCs is also expected to create new job opportunities
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY- U: Housing for All – Urban)
- The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Programme launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA), in Mission mode envisions provision of Housing for All by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
- The Mission seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers through following programme verticals:
- Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers with participation of private developers using land as a resource
- Promotion of Affordable Housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy
- Affordable Housing in Partnership with Public & Private sectors
- Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction /enhancement.
- The mission seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers. A slum is defined as a compact area of at least 300 people or about 60 – 70 households of poorly built congested tenements in unhygienic environment usually with inadequate infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and drinking water facilities.
- Mission will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) except for the component of credit linked subsidy which will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.
- “Housing for All” Mission for urban area is being implemented during 2015-2022 and this Mission will provide central assistance to implementing agencies through States and UTs for providing houses to all eligible families/beneficiaries by 2022.
Coverage area
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 which is entrusted with the functions of urban planning & regulations
