Extend PMAY-U to cover all deserving, assess needy afresh: House panel report

Context

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs has raised concerns that some people could not avail of the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) due to the eligibility criteria or other impediments.

Findings of the report:

Committee recommended that the ministry can extend the scheme, which is set to end on December 31, 2024, if need be, to cover those who remain in need of houses.
The Committee recommended that the ministry should conduct an impact assessment of the scheme to understand the benefits and gaps.
The panel noted that 60% of the total houses sanctioned were under the beneficiary-led construction (BLC) vertical, where purchasing land had been challenging for the beneficiaries.

About the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U):

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 which is entrusted with the functions of urban planning & regulations.
Implementation:Mission is implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)except for the component of credit linked subsidy which will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme.

Beneficiaries:

Beneficiaries include economically weaker section (EWS), low-income groups (LIGs) and Middle Income Groups (MIGs).
A beneficiary family will comprise husband, wife, unmarried sons and/or unmarried daughters.
The ownershipof houses is provided in the name of female member or in joint name.

Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) vs. Central sector scheme:

Centrally Sponsored Schemes are different from Central Sector Schemes in the sense that Central Sector Schemes are implemented by Centre directly while Centrally Sponsored Schemes are implemented by states.
CSS are extended by the Union Government to States under Article 282 of the Constitution.

Phases of the Mission:

It has been implemented in phased manner as under;
Phase I (April 2015-March 2017)- to cover 100 Cities selected from States/UTs as per their willingness
Phase II (April 2017-March 2019)- to cover additional 200 Cities
Phase III (April 2019-March 2022) - to cover all other remaining Cities.

Mission with all its component has become effective from the date 17.06.2015 and will be implemented up to March 2022 but now extended till December 2024.

Four Verticals under the Scheme:

In Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR): This vertical will be implemented with the concept “Land as a resource” with private sector participation for providing houses to eligible slum dwellers.

Affordable Housing through Credit Linked Subsidy (CLSS): Beneficiaries of EWS, LIG, MIG (I &II)seeking housing loans from Banks, Housing Finance Companies and other such institutions for acquiring, new construction or enhancement of houses are eligible for an interest subsidy of:
Affordable Housing through Partnership (AHP): 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 in the EWS category.
Beneficiary-led individual house construction (BLC): Central Assistance up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per EWS house is provided to eligible families belonging to EWS categories for individual house construction/ enhancement.

Government initiatives for implementation of the scheme:

CLSS Awas Portal (CLAP): It is a common platformwhere all stakeholders i.e., MoHUA, Central Nodal Agencies, Primary Lending Institutions, Beneficiaries and Citizens are integrated in a real-time environment.
Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs): It is a sub-scheme under PMAY-U. This will provide ease of living to urban migrants/ poor in the Industrial Sector as well as in non-formal urban economies to get access to dignified affordable rental housing close to their workplace.