PM Awas Yojana Expansion: Centre to Spend Rs 4 trillion

#### Syllabus: Government Schemes

#### Source: FE

Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 20 million more houses under PMAY-Gramin and 10 million under PMAY-Urban.

What is PM Awas Yojana?

It is a housing scheme launched by the government of India to provide affordable housing for all by 2024. The scheme has two variants, PMAY –Rural and PMAY – Urban

About PMAY:

| PMAY-Urban | PMAY-Rural

Nodal Ministry | Launched in 2015 by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | Launched in 2016 by Ministry of Rural Development

Type | Both Centrally Sponsored and Central Sector Scheme | Centrally Sponsored

Beneficiaries | EWS (economically weaker section): up to 3 lakh incomes; LIG (Lower income group): 3-6 lakh income MIG (Middle income group): 6-12 lakh income EWS is eligible for Assistance in all four verticals of Mission; LIG/MIG is eligible under only the CLSS component (Central Sector Scheme) | Identified through Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011

Four Verticals | 1. In-situ Slum Redevelopment 2. Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) 3. Affordable Housing in Partnership 4. Beneficiary-led Construction/Enhancement | N/A

Current Status | Over 83 lakh houses completed as of 3rd June 2024 (of 2.95 crore houses sanctioned) | About 2.62 crore houses completed as of 11 June 2024

LIG (Lower income group): 3-6 lakh income

MIG (Middle income group): 6-12 lakh income

EWS is eligible for Assistance in all four verticals of Mission; LIG/MIG is eligible under only the CLSS component (Central Sector Scheme)

1.Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS)

1.Affordable Housing in Partnership

1.Beneficiary-led Construction/Enhancement

Significance of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana:

• Targets poor: Targets urban poor including EWS, LIGs, and MIGs in Urban areas. PMAY-Gramin improves housing for rural poor.

• Wide Coverage: PMAY-Urban covers all 4041 statutory towns from the Census 2011, focusing on 500 Class I cities.

• Financing through Subsidy: 6.5% interest subsidy on housing loans for 15 years; Rs 1.5 lakh for eligible urban poor for construction or renovation.

• Affordable Housing Partnership: Rs 1.5 lakh Central Assistance per EWS house; projects must have at least 35% EWS houses to qualify.

• Women Empowerment: Promotes female ownership or joint ownership of houses.

Performance of PMAY-G:

• Completion Rate: Only 55% of the target met.

• Construction: Over 83 lakh houses completed as of 3rd June 2024 (of 2.95 crore houses sanctioned)

• Funding: 85% of beneficiaries received sanctioned funds.

• Employment: Generated employment, especially for migrant labourers during the lockdown.

Limitations of the scheme:

• COVID pandemic: the pandemic has slowed down the timely construction of houses and therefore government was forced to extend the deadline from 2022 to March 2024. In rural areas, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has a completion rate of 67.72%.

• In rural areas, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has a completion rate of 67.72%.

• Poor implementation by state: Six States account for 70% of the target units — West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Bihar has one of the lowest completion rates at 59%.

• Bihar has one of the lowest completion rates at 59%.

• Lack of clear land titles and documents: In both rural and urban areas, issues such as a lack of clear titles and other land documents tend to crop up. This further slowed down the pace of construction of houses.

• Withholding of funds by the Centre: Recently, the Centre withheld funds for the scheme in two Opposition-ruled States — West Bengal and Many times states like Chhattisgarh have defaulted on the payment because of lack of funds.

• Many times states like Chhattisgarh have defaulted on the payment because of lack of funds.

• Credit linked limit: According to the PMAY Credit Linked guidelines the interest subsidy of 6.5% will be given to the people who fall under backward classes or economically weaker groups. However, the subsidy is not for all the people living in these groups.

• However, the subsidy is not for all the people living in these groups.

• Tenure limit: As the yojana says the applicant will get a tenure of 15 years to repay the loan. But the time will be granted only if the loan amount is 6 lakhs or less. If the loan amount is more than 6 lakhs then the tenure will be less than 15 years.

• If the loan amount is more than 6 lakhs then the tenure will be less than 15 years.

For Sustainability Concerns with the housing (under PMAY): Click Here

Government Initiatives under PMAY-U:

• Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs): Provide affordable rental housing for urban migrants/poor near their workplaces.

• Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC): Mainstreams innovative, sustainable, eco-friendly, and disaster-resilient construction technologies. Light House Projects (LHPs): Part of GHTC, aimed at reducing construction time and building resilient, affordable houses.

• Light House Projects (LHPs): Part of GHTC, aimed at reducing construction time and building resilient, affordable houses.

• CLSS Awas Portal (CLAP): Integrates all stakeholders in real-time to process applications and track subsidy status.

• Mivan Construction Technology: Uses advanced aluminium formwork for faster and environmentally friendly construction.

• Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF) Technique: Utilizes polystyrene panels filled with concrete for strong, durable, and well-insulated structures.

• Hybrid Concrete Construction: Combines cast-in-place concrete with precast materials, accelerating construction and reducing costs.

Conclusion

The government has done a commendable job by converging the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana with other schemes that provide electricity, toilets and LPG gas connections. The implementation of PMAY has remained largely transparent and the progress has been satisfactory. However, the government should address the major issues with the PM Awas Yojana.

Insta Links:

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G)