The Ministry of Housing & Poverty Alleviation has taken several important policy decision during the year 2012 for the improvement of infrastructure and basic services to the poor residing in cities and towns of India. The details are as follows:
1. Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Established For Low Income Housing:- The Government approved the establishment of a Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Trust (CRGFT) for low income housing, with an initial corpus of Rs.1000 Crore. The Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Trust has been registered on 1st May, 2012 and the scheme has been notified. The CRGF Trust will administer and operate the Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Scheme. Under the Scheme, the fund will provide guarantee to the lending agencies for housing loans extended by them to persons belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections / Low Income Housing Groups up to Rs. 5 Lakh, without any third party guarantee or collateral security. The lending institutions eligible to avail benefit of the Guarantee cover under the Scheme are Scheduled Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Urban Co-operative Banks, Non Banking Financial Companies-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs), Apex Co-operative Housing Finance Societies registered under the State Co-operative Societies Act and Housing Finance Institutions registered with National Housing Bank (NHB). The CRGF Scheme is a demand driven scheme and applicable for the eligible housing loan extended by the lending institution in Urban Areas. The coverage under urban areas may extend to statutory towns, urban agglomerations and planning areas.
2. Revision of Income Criteria for Eligibility Under Various Housing Schemes for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and the Lower Income Group (LIG) :- The Ministry has also revised the income criteria for fixing eligibility for various Housing schemes being implemented by it targeting the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) / Low Income Group (LIG) beneficiaries. The income ceilings for the Economically Weaker Section household has been enhanced from up to Rs.5,000 per month to up to Rs.1,00,000 per annum and that of Lower Income Group has been increased from Rs.5001-10,000 per month to Rs.1,00,001 to Rs.2,00,000 per annum. The new criteria for income revision have been conveyed to all State Governments, Union Territories and Central Nodal Agencies namely National Housing Bank (NHB) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO). NHB and HUDCO in turn have informed all Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs). This will enable a larger number of people to access credit and partake in various schemes.
3. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched on 3rd December, 2005, supports provision of housing and basic services to urban poor/ slum dwellers in 65 specified cities under the Sub Mission Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and in other cities and towns, under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). The duration of Mission was up to 31-03-2012 and it has now been extended by 2 years up to March, 2014 for completion of projects sanctioned up to March, 2012.
(a) Mission Achievements as on 14.11.2012
· 1,610 projects with outlay of about Rs 41,813 Crore approved
· Central share of Rs. 22,418 Crore for 2005-12
· ACA of Rs. 14,221 Crore released – (63%)
· 65 Mission Cities covered under BSUP and 927 small cities/ towns covered under IHSDP (other than 65)
· 15.74 lakh houses sanctioned (15,74,956)
· 6.4 Lakh houses are complete, 3.5 Lakh houses are under progress all over India under JNNURM.
• Progress of 3 key reforms under JNNURM largely on track.
• Financial support for setting up of Programme Management Units (PMUs) in 29 States/UTs has been approved to assist States in monitoring BSUP, IHSDP and other urban poverty alleviation/slum development schemes.
• Financial support for setting up of 124 Project Implementation Units (PIUs) has also been approved at the City/ULBs levels to assist cities/project implementing agencies in monitor BSUP, IHSDP and other urban poverty alleviation/slum development schemes.
• A framework for Third Party Inspection and Monitoring (TPIM) established and 30 agencies for independent third party inspection and monitoring empanelled by Mission Directorate. TPIMs for 22 States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have been approved.
• An Online JNNURM tracking system as part of an Integrated Poverty Monitoring System (IPoMS) has been developed and is under implementation.
• Detailed Project Reports, Guidelines, Toolkits and Minutes of BSUP and IHSDP Sanctioning Committees have been put on the website to establish transparency and sharing of information at large.
• More than 290 capacity building/handholding programmes have been conducted across the country and more than 19,300 State/parastatal/local body officials trained in project formulation, design, implementation and monitoring.
• Model legal frameworks has been circulated to all the states on: Internal Earmarking of Funds for Poor/Non-lapsable BSUP Fund and Reservation of land for EWS and LIG.
(b) Pro Poor Key Reforms under BSUP & IHSDP
· Internal earmarking within local body budgets for Basic Services to the Urban Poor
65 cities have so far undertaken implementation of this reform
· Earmarking of at least 20-25% of developed land in all housing projects (both public and private agencies) for EWS/LIG category
29 States (62 cities) have issued the policy directives to reserve developed land in public and/or private housing projects
· Implementation of 7- Point Charter: Provision of 7 Basic Entitlements/Services
This reform is to be implemented in a staggered manner over the Mission Period in convergence with the programmes of other Ministries as this is also an outcome of the Mission.
(4) Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) has been launched on 02-06-2011 with the aim of providing support to States/UTs that are willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers. RAY is expected to cover about 250 cities by the end of 12thPlan (2017).
(a) PROGRESS OF RAY (PILOT PHASE)
12 pilot projects with total project cost of Rs. 526.5 Crore involving Central Assistance of Rs. 236.85Crore have been approved under RAY for the construction of total 9906 dwelling units. The first installment of Rs. 78.94 Crore has been released to the concerned States.
(a) Expenditure incurred under RAY (As on 30.9.2012)
| Total Project Cost Approved (Rs. in crore) | 527 |
| Total Central Share Approved (Rs. in crore) | 237 |
| ACA released (1st installment) (Rs. in crore) | 78.94 |
(b) Benefits accrued under RAY (As on 30.9.2012)
| No. of Projects Approved | 12 |
| No. of Cities/Towns covered | 11 |
| No of DUs Approved | 9906 |
RAY is currently under a preparatory/ pilot project phase. Benefits to a large number of slum dwellers will occur significantly when the main phase of RAY will start. Under the Affordable Housing in Partnership Scheme 11 projects have been approved as on 30.09.2012 with a total central assistance of Rs. 9.68 crorefor construction of 6768 affordable dwelling units.
(5) Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) is being implement in all the States/UTs and has been comprehensively revamped with effect from 2009-2010.The Scheme aims at providing gainful employment to the urban unemployed and under-employed poor, by setting up of self employment ventures by the urban poor living below the poverty line, skills training and also through providing wage employment by utilizing their labour for construction of socially and economically useful public assets. Under the Scheme, the Ministry has released the total funds of Rs. 4465 crore to the various States since inception 1997 till 2012-13.
(6) Real Estate Regulatory Authority : In order to bring in transparency and provide a uniform regulatory environment to enforce disclosure, fair practice and accountability norms in real estate transactions (buying or selling), the Ministry is in the process of formulating a Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill in consultation with all stakeholders viz., Central Government Ministries, State/Union Territory Governments, Consumer Welfare Associations, Real Estate Developers’ Associations, etc. The said Bill seeks establishment of a ‘Real Estate Regulatory Authority’ and ‘Real Estate Tribunal’ in each State with specified functions, powers, and responsibilities. The draft Bill has been prepared and will be moved to the Cabinet after obtaining necessary approvals. However, no time frame can be assigned for its finalization at this juncture