New Push For Developing Cities With Affordable Housing

Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra has called for developing cities with affordable houses that have all the basic facilities to accommodate the increasing urban population, and to achieve the Prime Minister’s Vision India @2047.

Addressing a seminar on ‘inclusive housing’, Mishra said that keeping in view the needs of the urban labour, migrant workers and other poor who come to cities for a better future, we should build houses with basic facilities for them so that there are no more slums, and with the existing slums giving way to all-inclusive housing development.

He said that we need to gear up to realise the dream of Vision India @2047 and embark on slum-free development.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), world’s largest affordable housing mission, has launched a unique initiative ‘awas par samvaad’ to propel ‘housing for all’ as a universal theme.

A series of seminars and workshops are being held to take forward Prime Minister’s vision of ‘housing for all’ by 2022.

Mishra said, “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Mission has been providing access to housing with all basic amenities to people around the country. The government has created an ecosystem so that people can get a decent shelter and dignified living.”

“Urban transformation is a major challenge. When we achieve the target of ‘housing for all’, it would be the beginning of a New India,” he said.

Outlining the details of the scheme, he said that PMAY(U) scheme is not only for building houses but also to provide basic facilities of sanitation, water, electricity, cooking gas, toilets etc, to the houses.

Mishra further said that more than 1.13 crore houses have been sanctioned under the Prime Minister's Awas Yojana in urban areas and 85 lakh houses have been earmarked for construction. "Beneficiaries have already moved in over 50 lakh housing units and we are all set to achieve the targets set under the scheme," he added.

On the Model Tenancy Act, which was recently approved by the Union Cabinet, he said it will create a huge opportunity in the real estate sector in the country. After the implementation of this act by the states, a big chunk of urban population can be accommodated.

Mishra further said that this was the first time that over 3.50 lakh people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi have registered on the portal developed by DDA to get the rights of land under the PM Uday Yojna.

He said that the government has created such an ecosystem in the affordable housing sector where even the poor can dream of having their own house with all the basic facilities. It is a new beginning after independence which will fulfil the most essential requirement of the urban poor of having a house.

About the affordable rental housing complexes (ARHCs), he said, “earlier, the focus of the past housing schemes was on ownership basis. But now we have ushered in a new era of rental housing for the first time after Independence. The scheme addresses the Prime Minister’s vision of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ by creating a sustainable ecosystem of affordable rental housing solutions for urban migrants/poor in cities.”

“ARHCs provide urban migrants/poor a dignified and affordable rental living with necessary civic amenities near their place of work.”

So far around 4,000 affordable rental housing have come into operation in Surat, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. Nearly 7,000 are under different stages and recently we have sanctioned around 60,000 houses to be constructed by public/private organisations, he said.

The secretary also spoke about the ministry’s initiative of bringing globally innovative technologies to the country for future use under the ambit of Global Housing Technology-India (GHTC-India) and the Light House Projects.

About the achievement of PMAY(U) scheme in North-Eastern states, the secretary said that more than 1 lakh affordable houses have been completed in these states, and Tripura is leading with completion of 50 per cent of those sanctioned while Assam has completed 23 per cent of its share out of the total of 3.7 lakh sanctioned for all these Noth-East states.

The seminar was organised by the School of Planning and Architecture.