Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Gramin

Context:

Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated 5.21 lakh houses of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY)-Gramin in Madhya Pradesh.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Gramin

• In pursuance to the goal – Housing for all by 2022, the rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana has been revamped to Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin and approved during March 2016.
• Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for construction of pucca house to all houseless and households living in dilapidated houses.
• The scheme would be implemented in rural areas throughout India except Delhi and Chandigarh.
• The cost of houses would be shared between Centre and States.

Objective

To provide pucca house to all who are houseless and living in dilapidated houses in rural areas by 2022.

Funding Pattern

• Under PMAY, the cost of unit assistance is to be shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.
• The unit assistance given to beneficiaries under the programme is Rs 1,20,000 in plain areas and to Rs 1,30,000 in hilly states/difficult areas /Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts. Presently the NE States, States of HP, J&K and Uttarakhand and all 82 LWE districts are identified as difficult and hilly areas.
• The unit size is 25 sq.m including a dedicated area for hygienic cooking.
• The beneficiary is entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour from MGNREGA.
• The beneficiary would be facilitated to avail loan of up to Rs.70,000/- for construction of the house which is optional.
• Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary.

Target Group

Identification of beneficiaries eligible for assistance and their prioritisation to be done using information from Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) ensuring total transparency and objectivity. The list will be presented to Gram Sabha to identify beneficiaries who have been assisted before or who have become ineligible due to other reasons. The finalised list will be published. Annual list of beneficiaries will be identified from the total list through participatory process by the Gram Sabha. Gram Sabha will need to justify in writing with reasons for any alteration of priority in the original list.

Other features:

• Identification of beneficiaries as per the housing deprivation parameters and exclusion criteria prescribed under Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 after due verification by Gram Sabha.
• The scheme envisioned providing other facilities to make it an aspirational home for the beneficiaries through convergence with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, PM Ujjwala Yojana for providing LPG connection and unskilled wage component of 90-95 days under MGNREGA.
• Provision of assistance for construction of toilets amounting to Rs. 12,000/- through SBM-G, MGNREGS or any other dedicated source of funding.
• Facilitating willing beneficiaries to avail loan from Financial Institutions for an amount of up to Rs 70,000.

Challenges : 

• Covid-19 pandemic induced nationwide lockdown has retarded the pace of construction of rural houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin. 
• The delays are also due to cases of the unwillingness of beneficiaries, migration, death of beneficiaries without a legal heir, delay in allotment of land to landless beneficiaries by the states/UTs .
• Implementation was also “affected at the ground level due to unavailability of construction materials, labour, delay in the inspection of stages of house construction etc.

Initiatives to ensure the proper functioning of the scheme:

• Regular review of progress at the level of the Ministry to ensure timely completion of targeted houses.
• Daily monitoring on various parameters like Gaps in sanction of houses, cleaning of Permanent Wait List (PWL) of PMAY-G and release of Central Share/StateMatching Share from the treasury to Single Nodal Account (SNA).
• Timely allocation of targets to the States/UTs and release of adequate funds at the level of the Ministry.
• Regular follow-ups with the State to ensure the provision of land to landless beneficiaries in rural areas.
• Steps are being taken to increase the coverage of the Rural Mason Training (RMT) programme which would increase the availability of trained masons leading to faster construction of quality houses.
• Awards to the best performing States/UTs, Districts based on performance index dashboard, thereby creating healthy competition and motivation among the States/UTs for achieving the set targets.
• Promotion of eco-friendly & innovative technologies for house construction and monitoring for example : 
  • AwaasSoft and AwaasApp: AwaasSoft provides functionalities for data entry and monitoring of multiple statistics related to implementation aspects of the scheme. 
    • New modules have been added to the software for making it more accessible and maintaining transparency in the implementation of the programme. Some modules are 

• Landless Module – The scheme has also taken care of landless households in the permanent waitlist (PWL). 
• E-Ticketing system – The module has been introduced to address the grievances pertaining to technical as well as non-technical issues under PMAY-G as referred by the State/UTs.
• Aadhaar Based Payment System –ABPS allows Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the PMAY-G beneficiary in his/ her bank account linked with the Aadhaar number of the concerned beneficiary for the safe and authentic transaction.

What is Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban?

• Launch:
  • Launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 25^th June 2015, intends to provide housing for all in urban areas by year 2022.
• Features:
  • Addresses Urban housing shortage among the Urban Poor including the Slum Dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to eligible urban poor.
  • 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.
  • All houses under PMAY(U) have basic amenities like toilets, water supply, electricity and kitchen.
  • The Mission promotes women empowerment by providing the ownership of houses in the name of female members or in joint name.
  • Preference is also given to differently abled persons, senior citizens, SCs, STs, OBCs (Other Backward Classes), Minority, single women, transgender and other weaker & vulnerable sections of the society.
• Divided into Four Verticals:
  • In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation.
  • Credit Linked Subsidy.
  • Affordable Housing in Partnership.
  • Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.

Source: Indian Express

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