PMAY Housing Scheme , A Brief Insight .

INTRODUCTION

In a nation as vast as ours with a population looming just a few notches below 1.4 Billion , with?well spread out socio-economic stratas of individuals and groups with varied incomes , housing became an issue that had previously missed the radar of effective policymaking . For most people in India , building a house is considered to be a lifetime achievement , an act that generations of the same would reap the fruits of and cherish , it becomes the bedrock and anchor depicting stability in our country , and gives families a sense of immovable security and belongingness .

Especially in urban areas , where there is a reasonable amount of population density , and people from the rural areas flock for employment and corresponding opportunities , scarcity of land and extremely expensive rent and housing makes it impossible for people of lower and middle income groups to be able to afford decent housing , and in retrospective effect this lack of decent housing in urban areas becomes a root cause of a plethora of problems such as illegal construction , slum clusters without proper hygiene and drainage facilities or electricity and water , and even an increase in the amount of crime due to desperate migrants suffering from a financial crunch . Slum clusters in urban areas become densely populated zones in which dwellings are illegally constructed and often collapse or catch fire as they are not properly planned , they become the source of diseases due to lack of drainage and no proper sanitation or healthcare facilities in and around them , they also become a den of anti-social elements and criminals because of the lack of education and poverty which prevails in these zones .

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THE SCHEME AND ITS EFFECTS IN RURAL BELTS

Therefore , the much needed , Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana , PMAY Scheme Karnataka which is the Government Of India’ project for Urban Housing for all , is a project that plans and strives to ensure that every household in Karnataka will have access to a basic living unit , the scheme also aims to ensure no slums in India by 2022 . In the age of skyrocketing prices of urban housing and properties , the PMAY initiative was designed to help all urban residents , irrespective of their income , to have a proper home of their own?by 2022 . The scheme has an objective and aim to build and construct 16 Crore Dwelling Units (DCU’s) in Urban Areas by 2022 under it .

Previous Governments had also tried to launch similar schemes which were not as effective such as the Housing For All Project which commenced in 2005 , which was implemented by the Government of India , and then handed over to Karnataka . The project started materializing and gaining momentum since 2010 . The PMAY scheme in Karnataka has been rolled out by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Allevation , it has been closely monitored and implemented in tandem with the Urban and Housing Development corporation which is a Public Sector Undertaking , and the National Urban Livelihood Mission , (NULM) of the Central Government . The primary phase of this project was launched on 25 June 2015 , which saw an investement of Rs 1.94 Lakh Crore being made across 500 cities in India to build around 20 Lakh affordable houses , making the scheme one of the most ambitious and exhaustive ones to be made by any Ministry .

The project implementation has been carried out in phases until 2022 which are currently underway , in the first phase , projects have already been completed in Karnataka , Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat , by 2017 nearly 16 crore homes were aimed to be built across 500 cities , the second phase of the project shall expand to over 4 lakh new cities over India .

The primary focus of PMAY is to build a safe and secure home for every Indian citizen by 2022 , the programme aims to alleviate poverty and homelessness to provide affordable housing through the number of houses so built , the average investment for the home is higher than Rs 35000 , the beneficiaries get a subsidy of Rs 1.20 Lakh , it includes Rs 1 Lakh through Credit Linked Subsidy scheme , and in addition , beneficiaries can raise loans upto Rs 6 Lakh . In this initiative , the Ministry is assisted by the National Housing Bank and also the National Project Construction Corporation , which provides financial assistance to the beneficiaries .

Under the PMAY scheme the incentives?offered to the beneficiary who is eligible for a home that has proper sanititation facilities , alteast 30 sq mtr carpet area, that is free from smoke and dust , rain , humidity and has walk in wadrobes . The houses must also have power and water supply , proper drainage facilities and a laundry , Every home built in Karnataka under the PMAY scheme must have toilets which shall also promote the mission of Swachh Bharat.

It has now been almost seven years since 2015 which was the inception of this Scheme , and since then , this scheme has been progressing at a steady pace . The programme has already been a success with the Government successfully being able to complete the first phase and the second phase which looks to implement this scheme on a broader phase has been declared underway which is a herculean and a mammoth task , as of now , in Karnataka 18.78 Lakh people without houses and 6.61 lakh people without residential sites are getting relief under this scheme , the Housing Minister V Somanna has already written to all the MLA’s to indentify the beneficiaries for the same . Under the programme , each assembly constituency shall get 1500-2500 houses , the Government plans to construct 5 lakh houses over the next year .

Another facet of this is the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin ( PMAY-G) which is aimed at rural areas where beneficiaries will get Rs1.2 Lakh , the State Government will bear 60% of the cost while the rest will be borne by the Union Government , besides this an additional Rs 30,000 will be given to beneficiaries to construct a toilet and another Rs10,000 under MNREGA , which shall be directly credited into the Bank Accounts of the Beneficiaries .

These flagship schemes can be availed by any household with an annual income between Rs 3-18 Lakhs and the applicant or any other family member must now own a pucca house in any part of the country . In the State of Karnataka , this scheme has been a resounding success and has been successfully executed in all the districts , The Chief Mininster Basavaraj Bommai had also thanked Prime Minister Modi in lieu of the same as the people of Karnataka had benefited greatly from the scheme and it turned out for an appropriate gift on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti .

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CONCLUSION

The PMAY scheme stands testimony to the fact that such gigantic and herculean schemes and projects can be effectively implemented which has the potential to change the face of both urban and rural spaces of a nation as vast and diverse as ours . This scheme in the State of Karnataka has impacted the lives of people immensely as in India , a house symbolises identity and belongingness , as Indians our emotion has always been rooted to our land , and our house which depicts who we are and where we come from , which is an emotion so deep and indogenic which has been identified by our leadership and given a direction to be fulfilled across the nation . This scheme not only gives hope to every citizen and their posterity to have a home of their own but also takes a plethora of citizens out of the vicious circle of rent and debt traps induced by high interest home loans provided by moneylenders and private banks , leading to widespread exploitation of the homeless masses . Apart from this the fallacies of widespread slum clusters in urban and rural places and the displacement of socially and economically backward classes into these makeshift slum clusters which creates a rift in society is also being effectively addressed through this as is promotes a sense of belongingness and equality among all in society and promises an anchor to all citizens to fix their lives upon . This scheme also promotes hygiene by providing toilets as most of the homeless citizens do not have access to proper hygiene and sanitation facilities which would reduce the spread of diseases and improve the health of the individuals , makeshift slum clusters also do not have a clean water supply or electricity and proper housing is going to give so many citizens proper access to all these facilities , will promote and the safety of women and aid the education and healthy growth of children by providing them with a conducive , safe and healthy environment to grow .

The fruits of this falgship scheme shall be reaped in the ages to come and push the posterity of our nation further with belongingness , safety and security to soar to greater heights of which the foundations have long been laid and the implementation of which is bound to transform lives and eradicate generations of seclusion?and suffering and provide security , stability and a sense of belonging among the masses for ages to come .