Construction of Houses for Economically Weaker Sections

Housing being a State subject, targets have not been set for construction of houses as such, for all including people from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) and Lower Income Groups (LIGs) for the 12th Five Year Plan. However, the Government has planned for providing financial support to States/ Union territories for construction/upgradation of 2 million houses alongwith related civic amenities in the 12th Five Year Plan through implementation of Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) and Rajiv Rinn Yojana (RRY) under capital / interest subsidy. In addition, the establishment of a Credit Risk Guarantee Fund, allowing External Commercial Borrowing for Affordable Housing, creation of an ‘Urban Housing Fund’, provision of lower interest loans for Affordable Housing by Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and concessions granted by the State Governments under their Affordable Housing programmes are some of the other measures in affordable housing.This was stated by Dr. (Ms.) Girija Vyas, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. 

The Minister further stated that a Technical Group constituted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has estimated the housing shortage in urban areas in the beginning of 12th Five Year Plan as 18.78 million. The report has indicated that the Housing shortage during the period 2012-17 may not increase if the rate of growth in housing stock continues to be higher than the growth in number of Households in the 12th Five Year Plan, as was observed in the last decade, the Minister added. 

Courtesy: (pib.nic.in) Press Information Bureau