Chapter 25 Housing

NATIONAL HOUSING AND HABITAT POLICY

HOUSING is a state subject, but, the Union Government is responsible forthe formulation of policy with regard to programmes and approaches foreffective implementation of the social housing schemes, particularly thosepertaining to the weaker sections of the society. A new Housing and HabitatPolicy 1998 has been formulated to address the issues of sustainabledevelopment, infrastructure and for strong public private partnership forshelter delivery. The policy was approved and laid before Parliament on29 July 1998. The objectives of the policy are to create surpluses in housingstock and facilitate construction of two million additional dwelling units eachyear in pursuance of National Agenda for Governance. It also seeks to ensurethat housing along with supporting services is treated as priority sector atpar with infrastructure. The central theme of the policy is strong publicprivate partnerships for tackling housing and infrastructure problems. TheGovernment would provide fiscal concessions, carry out legal and regulatoryreforms and create an enabling environment.

The problem of housing shortage compounded with the populationexplosion has also been addressed by this policy. This document clearlyidentifies the respective roles of the Central Government, the State government,local authorities, financial institutions, research standardization and technicalinstitutions. However, since housing being a state subject, the Stategovernments have to play the primary role in formulating specific action plansand programmes suited to local needs and conditions in consultation with localbodies and citizen groups. The National Agenda for Governance has identifiedHousing for All as a priority area, with particular emphasis on the needs ofthe vulnerable groups. As per this programme, it is proposed to facilitateconstruction of 20 lakh additional units every year, with emphasis on EWS andLIG sections of the population as also the needs of SC/ST and other vulnerablegroups. Out of 20 lakh additional houses, seven lakh houses will beconstructed in the urban areas and remaining 13 lakh in the rural areas. Thiswould require an additional investment of around Rs 4,000 crore.

HOUSING FINANCE

The following initiatives have been taken recently as part of implementation ofNational Housing and Habitat Policy: (a) An Action Plan has been drawn up toachieve the target of Shelter for All enunciated in the National Agenda forGovernance. Construction of seven lakh additional dwelling units in urbanareas will be facilitated by the Government by providing fiscal and technologicalsupport. It will require all-round involvement of private sector/cooperatives

Housingand NGOs/CBOs; (b) The National Housing Bank set up in 1988 as asubsidiary of Reserve Bank of India, is functioning under administrativecontrol of the Banking Division of Department of Economics Affairs. It issupervising and controlling various HFIs. So far it has recognised 25 HFIs; (c)Allocation by Life Insurance Corporation/General Insurance Corporation fordirect and indirect finance for housing has been increased; (d) During 1998-99HUDCO sanctioned loan worth Rs 6,666.67 crore. Loan released during thesame period was Rs 3,200.68 crore. More than 98 per cent dwelling unitsfinanced by HUDCO are for economically weaker sections and low-incomegroups. As on 31 March 1999 over 85.58 lakh dwelling units have beensanctioned under various housing schemes of the HUDCO of which over 48lakh units are in rural areas. In addition, over four lakh developed plots and 48lakh sanitation units have been sanctioned till that date. Loan disbursementtarget as per MoU 1999-2000 for 1999-2000 is Rs 1,400 crore for housingschemes including Government Action Plan Schemes. HUDCOs contributionto the two million Housing Programme has been significant. HUDCO hassanctioned a loan assistance of Rs 1,874 crore for construction of 10.65 lakhunits, against its target of 10 lakh units under the programme. HUDCO hassupported 4.30 lakh units in urban areas against four lakh units assigned and6.35 lakh units in rural areas against the target of six lakh units; and (e) As anAction Plan item, Night Shelter Scheme for Footpath Dwellers is beingimplemented as a Centrally-sponsored scheme in the metropolitan and othermajor urban centres. Since April 1991 and as on 31 March 1999, 65 schemesbenefitting about 30,000 footpath-dwellers have been sanctioned by HUDCOin various parts of the country.

BUILDING MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY INPUTS IN HOUSINGSECTOR

Technology application is a crucial input in housing. Building materialsaccount for 65 to 75 per cent of the total cost of construction. The demandfor building materials has been continuously rising with the increasing needfor housing both in rural and urban areas. Inadequate technology extensionfacilities, lack of coordination and promotion programmes at the Central andState government levels to support production ventures are some of theissues receiving attention of the Government. In the rural areas the problemis more severe due to decreasing access to traditional materials such astimber, bamboo, thatch which mostly form part of biomass. Commercialexploitation by various industries has aggravated the situation. A changein policy is, therefore, essential to give due priority to shelter constructionthrough better availability of alternate materials at affordable prices and byminimising commercial exploitation of biomass.

In this context, the following initiatives have been taken: (a) As partof the Ninth Plan exercise, the demand and likely shortage of some of themajor building materials have been estimated along with the potential forproduction of alternative building materials. Some more fiscal concessionsfor innovative and cost-effective building materials had been granted in 1999-2000 budget; (b) The Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council(BMTPC) has been functioning as a registered society under the aegis of the

HousingMinistry of Urban Development to provide for an appropriate platform fortechnology identification, validation, transfer, application in the shelter sectorand promoting large-scale commercial production of innovative buildingmaterials. The Council has taken a lot of initiatives in utilisation of fly-ashand other wastes, introduction of new specifications by CPWD and BIS andto increase the entrepreneurs interface with the financial institutions andresearch agencies. A number of flyash based building materials productionunits in various parts of the country are being set up; (c) Some of thetechnologies and new materials and components already tested andmanufactured on a pilot scale have been identified for large-scale extension;(d) A network of Building Centres has been set up as a Centrally-sponsoredscheme through HUDCO to train artisans and others for transfer ofappropriate technology to rural and urban areas. As on 31 March 1999,Administrative approval has been given for 624 Building Centres out ofwhich 356 have become functional; and (e) Non-governmental organisationsare increasingly being supported to supplement governmental efforts.

NRI INVESTMENT AND FDI IN HOUSING

The housing sector suffers from paucity of funds in the backdrop of themagnitude of housing shortage in the country. The available domestic fundsleave a huge resource gap resulting in unabated increase in the housingshortage. There are significant gaps in resources, technology and managementin the sector.

In the ongoing process of economic reforms and liberalization oftrades and industrial policy of the Government, the housing and real estatesectors have emerged as a key area with immense investment potential. Inorder to pass on the benefits of the liberalization process to NRIs/PIO/OCBsand to promote inflow of foreign exchange and augment resources for thehousing sector, the Government announced a scheme for NRI investmentin housing and real estate development. The scheme covers investment bynon-residents of Indian nationality/origin and Overseas Corporate Bodies(OCBs) predominantly owned by NRIs/PIO in the following areas: (i)development of serviced plots and construction of built-up residentialpremises; (ii) real estate covering construction of residential and commercialpremises including business centres and offices; (iii) development of townships;(iv) city and region-level urban infrastructure facilities including roads andbridges; (v) manufacturing of building materials; (vi) financing of housingdevelopment; and (vii) permitting FDI in the sector is under consideration.

NATIONAL BUILDING ORGANISATION

The National Building Organisation (NBO) was established in 1954 as anattached office of the then Ministry of Works and Housing primarily to takeup research in low-cost building designs, improvement of the building andhousing conditions alongwith the socio-economic aspects. NBO also functionsas the regional centre for housing for ESCAP. In the past, NBO has been takingup public supporting research works in building designs, building materialsand other socio-economic aspects. Publications have been brought out

Housingcovering all these aspects and also housing statistics. Having regard tocurrent requirements under the National Housing and Habitat Policy tostrengthen the management information system and various other relatedsocio-economic and statistical functions connected with housing and otheractivities and also to ensure more effective and systematic technologytransfer at various levels involving large-scale dissemination, use andcommercial application of low-cost and innovative technology, NBO has beenrestructured during the year 1992 to take up mainly the socio-economic,management information system and creation of data bank. The functionsrelated to building materials and designs have been taken out of the purviewof the NBO and given to BMTPC, an autonomous body within the Ministry.In order to cope with the creation of a strong data base on housing andurban development activities the computer facilities in NBO has beenstrengthened.

HOUSING FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

In order to provide housing facilities to the Central Government employees,Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organisation (CGEWHO)has been set up as a registered society under the aegis of the Ministry ofUrban Development. The CGEWHO has so far completed six projects Chennai, Nerul (Navi Mumbai), Panchkula, NOIDA (Phase-I), NOIDA(Phase-II) and Calcutta. These schemes have provided 2,782 dwelling units.Projects at Gurgaon (Phase-I, 1,088 units), Kharghar (1,230 units) andChandigarh (305 units) are nearing completion. Projects at Bangalore (603units), Kochi (360 units 2 phases) and Gurgaon Phase-II (852 units) havebeen announced and are at various stages of initial works. The latest schemeannounced is at Ahmedabad. Projects at Hyderabad and Kanpur are inthe pipeline. Further, CGEWHO has acquired land at Lucknow, Pimpri Chindiwad, Meerut and Greater Noida. CGEWHO is trying to acquire landat Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Delhi.

LAND

Land is a critical input in housing. There is acute shortage of serviced land,particularly in urban areas. This is responsible for inadequate housingactivity. For every 10 lakh additional units, at least 6,000 hectares ofdeveloped land is required. To tackle this problem, concerted steps areproposed for: (a) increased supply of serviced land through land acquisition,negotiated purchase and land readjustment, suitable amendments to LA Act;(b) modification of development plans and regulations for cheaper legalshelter and intensive land use; and (c) HUDCO and NHB have beenfinancing land development schemes by public as well as private agencies.

URBAN LAND (CEILING AND REGULATION) REPEAL ACT, 1999

The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 came into force in 1976.The object of the Act was to prevent concentration of urban land in a fewhands and to have equitable distribution of urban land in order to subservethe common good. The Act is in force in 64 urban agglomerations spreadover in 12 states and three Union Territories. However, it was widely felt

Housingthat there were hurdles in the implementation of the Act and the objectiveof acquiring land for public purpose through this Act could not be achievedon account of numerous litigations. The issue of amending/repealing theAct was under consideration of the Government and it decided on 12 May1998 to repeal it.

The Urban Land (C&R) Repeal Bill, 1998 was introduced in Lok Sabhaon 11 June 1998. The Standing Parliamentary Committee on Urban andRural Development, while recommending repeal of the Act, made somesuggestions for modification in the Bill . In view of the need to repeal theAct immediately to promote housing in terms of National Housing andHabitat Policy, 1998, the Government decided to repeal the Act through anOrdinance and the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Repeal Ordinance,1999 was accordingly notified on 11 January 1999. The Bill pending in LokSabha was withdrawn and a fresh Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation)Repeal Bill, 1999 was introduced on 5 March 1999 for replacing the RepealOrdinance, 1999. The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Repeal Bill, 1999was passed by both the Houses of Parliament. The Urban Land (Ceilingand Regulation) Repeal Act, 1999 was notified in the Gazette on 22 March1999 after obtaining the Presidents assent. The Repeal Act has already comeinto force in the States of Haryana and Punjab and all the Union Territorieswith effect from 11 January 1999, and in Uttar Pradesh with effect from18 March 1999.

URBAN WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

Water supply and sanitation are important basic needs for improvement ofthe quality of life and enhancement of productive efficiency of the people.Rapid urbanisation and industralisation have multiplied the challenges forproviding these basic amenities. Water supply and sanitation are Statesubjects. The Ministry of Urban Development assists the State governmentsin their programmes by way of formulation of broad policy framework,legislative support through legislation or issue of guidelines and notifications,Central assistance, providing technical guidance by the Central Public Healthand Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), human resourcedevelopment, research management information system (MIS) and arrangingexternal assistance from bilateral and multilateral institutions for Stategovernment projects.

ACCELERATED URBAN WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMME

This Centrally-sponsored scheme was launched midway during the EighthPlan period in March 1994 to provide safe and adequate water supplyfacilities to the entire population of towns having population less than 20,000(as per 1991 census) in the country. Considering water scarcity, and thenarrow revenue base of municipal authorities/boards, the scheme is fundedby the Central and the State governments in the ratio of 50:50. As on 31March 1999 an amount of Rs 13,657.40 lakh had been released to the various

HousingState governments for implementing 330 sanctioned schemes of which 64schemes are reported to have been commissioned under the programme.

LOW COST SANITATION FOR LIBERATION OF SCAVENGERS

This Centrally-sponsored scheme has been under implementation throughthe Ministry of Urban Development since 1989-90. It provides for conversionof existing dry latrines into low cost water seal pour flush latrines andconstruction of new sanitary units where none exist to prevent opendefecation. The basic objective is to liberate scavengers from the obnoxiouspractice of carrying head-loads of night soil. The scheme is beingimplemented on a whole town basis by providing subsidy from the Ministryand loans from HUDCO in a synchronised manner.

821 schemes covering 1,212 towns have been sanctioned under thisscheme for conversion/construction of 36.09 lakh units as on 30 April 1999involving the liberation of 1.22 lakh manual scavengers. As per the reportsreceived from the State governments, 8.19 lakh low cost units have beencompleted so far and 2.40 lakh units are in progress.

The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of DryLatrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, notified in Gazette on 5 June 1993 hasbecome applicable to Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura,West Bengal and UTs with effect from 26 January 1997. The State Assembliesof Orissa, Punjab, Assam, Haryana, Bihar and Gujarat have also adoptedthe Act. All the State governments have been requested to frame the rulesfor bringing into force the Act.

HINDUSTAN PREFEB LIMITED

Hindustan Prefeb Limited is a Government of India Company functioningunder the administrative control of the Ministry of Urban Development since1955. It is working both as a production unit and a contracting companyfor execution of civil works. The company is managed by a Board ofDirectors and has 674 employees on its rolls as on 31 March 1999. Itsauthorised and paid-up capital stands at Rs 10 crore and Rs 6.97 crorerespectively.

CENTRALLY-SPONSORED SCHEMES

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM TOWNS

The Scheme of Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns(IDSMT) aims at the development of selected regional growth centres withinfrastructure and service facilities. The objective is to enable them to emergeas centres of economic growth and employment opportunities and arrestmigration from rural areas and small towns to large and metropolitan cities.Keeping in view the need to strengthen infrastructure in urban areas, certainmodifications to the guidelines of the IDSMT Scheme which has been inoperation from Sixth Plan have been approved by the Cabinet on 18 July1995 and circulated to the State governments/UT administrations. The

Housingimportant among these changes are : (a) extending the coverage of IDSMTScheme to towns with a population of up to five lakh; (b) new financingpattern; (c) enabling the selected cities and towns to take up projects; (d)a rigorous planning process of the preparation of state urban developmentstrategy paper, city/town investment plans and IDSMT project reports toimplement such plans; (e) a package of municipal reforms in line with theConstitutions 74th Amendment Act including creation of revolving fund atthe municipal level to promote development of infrastructure on a continuingbasis. Seventy-five per cent of the grants released under the Scheme shouldflow back from projects to the revolving fund; (f) sanctioning of IDSMTprojects to be done by a Committee at the State level; and (g) grants-in-aid to State governments/Municipalities on 60 (Central) : 40 (state) basisfor preparation of town development (investment) plans and project reportsto implement the Scheme.

From inception of the Scheme till 31 March 1999, 945 towns in 25 statesand five Union Territories have been covered and Central assistanceamounting to Rs 345.30 crore released. The Plan allocation for the Schemeis Rs 50 crore for 1999-2000.

MEGA CITY SCHEME

The Centrally-sponsored scheme of Infrastructure Development in MegaCities in operation from 1993-94 applies to the five Mega Cities of Mumbai,Chennai, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The sharing between Centraland State governments is in the ratio of 25:25 and the balance 50 per centis to be mobilised as institutional finance. The projects included under theScheme are under three categories: (a) Remunerative projects; (b) User-chargebased projects and (c) Basic services projects. The primary objective is toenable the mega cities build a Revolving Fund by the end of the Ninth Planfor sustained investment in urban infrastructure through adoption of directand indirect cost recovery measures. The Eighth Plan notionally indicatedan outlay of Rs 700 crore for this scheme (Mumbai Rs 200 crore, CalcuttaRs 200 crore, Chennai Rs 100 crore, Hyderabad Rs 100 crore and BangaloreRs 100 crore). Against this, an amount of Rs 290 crore was allocated forthe Mega City Scheme up to 1996-97. During 1997-98 Rs 69 crore wasreleased to the State level nodal agencies. During 1998-99 a sum of Rs 74.87crore was released under the Mega City Scheme.

URBAN MAPPING

The Urban Mapping Scheme was taken up as a pilot project during theEighth Five Year Plan for covering 50 towns from different states. In thefirst phase, 25 towns from six states were selected for coverage. TheExecutive Agency for the project, the National Remote Sensing Agency(NRSA) has completed aerial photography for all the towns and they havefurnished photographs and aerial maps for all the towns except three towns.TCPO in collaboration with the concerned State Town Planning Departmentsis undertaking interpretation of aerial photographs and collection of othersecondary data/information to generate thematic maps and graphic data

Housingbase for the development of GIS and processing of information for use ofTown Planning Departments, Local Bodies, Development Authorities, PWD,Tax Authorities and other Sectoral Development Agencies, as multi-purposemaps.

Out of Rs 8.68 crore released to TCPO under Urban Mapping Schemeup to 1998-99, an expenditure of Rs 6.54 crore has been incurred so far.As envisaged in the Eighth Five Year Plan document the second phase ofthe Urban Mapping Scheme involving 25 more towns was approved to becovered in the Ninth Five Year Plan period. For the second phase of theUrban Mapping Scheme, 13 towns have been proposed by NRSA and varioussurvey works have been/being completed. For the remaining towns Stategovernments have submitted/are in the process of submitting the technicalspecifications.

CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), is the principal agency ofthe Government of India for construction and maintenance of all Centralgovernment buildings and projects excepting those belonging to railways,defence, communication, atomic energy, airports (national and international)and All India Radio. The existence of the CPWD could be traced back tothe year 1863 when the Ajmer Provincial Division was created. However,the CPWD was formally created in its present form in 1930 with itsheadquarters located at New Delhi. The Department is headed by DirectorGeneral (Works). The Department has six regional centres known as NewDelhi Region, Delhi Region, Northern Region (all with headquarters atDelhi), Eastern Region, Southern Region and Western Region (withheadquarters at Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai respectively).

The CPWD handles a wide range of projects like housing and officecomplexes. It is also executing border fencing, flood lighting and roadprojects in difficult terrain and under hostile conditions along the Indo-Pakand Indo-Bangladesh borders. CPWD has its field units all over India totake up construction and maintenance works even in the remotest parts ofthe country. It also undertakes the work of public sector undertakings andautonomous bodies as deposit works. CPWD has also executed manyoverseas works such as construction of embassies and hospital buildingsin various countries and roads and bridges in Nepal.

The CPWD has to its credit construction of prestigious buildlings likeRashtrapati Bhawan, North Block, South Block, Parliament House, VigyanBhawan and many multi-storeyed structures, stadia. The prestigious ParliamentLibrary Building costing approximately Rs 85 crore is under constructionnear the existing Parliament House.

The department is moving forward in the field of construction bydeveloping innovative new techniques and adopting state-of-the-arttechnologies. The Technology Application and Development Cell (TAD Cell)has been established to identify and select environment friendly constructionmaterials and technologies in close liaison and coordination with research

Housingorganisations. The CPWD is playing a major role towards sustainabledevelopment of human settlement. It has also developed expertise inrehabilitation of structures.

The CPWD has well-documented specifications and standards, andschedules of rates which are updated from time to time, to keep pace withlatest technologies and market trends with a definite quality assurance plan.These specifications and schedules of rates are being followed by variousconstruction organisations both in the public as well as in private sectors.

CONSTRUCTION AGENCIES

NATIONAL BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION LIMITED

The National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) wasincorporated as a public sector undertaking in November 1960. The paid-up equity share capital of NBCC as on 31 March 1999 (after financialrestructuring) is Rs 81.65 crore and non-cumulative preference share ofRs 30 crore against the authorised capital of Rs 120 crore. Using state-of-the-art in construction technology, NBCC has executed numerous high-valuesophisticated and prestigious projects in the following areas: (i) Tall RCCChimneys/TV Towers; (ii) Energy and Transmission Lines; (iii) CoolingTowers; (iv) Transportation Structures; (v) Project Management andConsultancy; (vi) Use of Trenchless (No-Dig) Technology; (vii) InstitutionalBuildings; (viii) Real Estate; (ix) Environmental Structures using UASBTechnology; (x) Hotels and Hospitals; (xi) Mass Housing and Townships;and (xii) Interior Decoration and Maintenance assignments.

The NBCC has established itself as a Flag Ship company in the countryfor construction of high-rise chimneys and cooling towers using slip formand jump form technologies. NBCC is also in the process of establishingits expertise in UASB Technology the most economical for execution ofSewage Treatment Plants. Being a nodal agency, NBCC has been promotingthe use of trenchless technology in India. The Corporation has also acquireddirectional drilling equipments to take up the projects to be executed throughthis technology. NBCC is a MoU signing company with the Governmentsince 1992-93 and its performance has been rated as Excellent for the lastthree years. In tune with the economic liberalisation, it has entered intoagreements with a number of multi-nationals, private and public firms forexploration of business.

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION PLANNING BOARD

The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) was constituted underan Act of Parliament in February 1985 to plan and promote a balanced andharmonised development of the National Capital Region (NCR). The Boardhas prepared Regional plan-2001 NCR and is co-ordinating the enforcementand implementation of the Regional Plan, Functional Plans and Sub-RegionalPlans. To implement the Plan, the Board is to arrange for and oversee thefinancing of selected development projects through Central and State Plan

Housingfunds and other sources of revenue. The participating States of Uttar Pradeshand Rajasthan have prepared Sub-Regional Plans for their respective sub-regions and have been approved by NCRPB. The Board has also approvedFunctional Plans for transport, power, telecom and industry. Since thehorizon of the present Regional Plan is 2001, the National Capital RegionPlanning Board has initiated the process of preparation of Regional Plan-2021. The preparation of the Sub-regional Plans for Haryana and NCT-Delhiwith the perspective year 2021 has also been initiated by their respectiveState governments.

To achieve the objectives of the Regional Plan, the NCR Planning Boardhas approved an Investment Plan for the Ninth Five Year Plan period withan investment programme of Rs 28,426 crore consisting of Rs 16,500 crorein the private sector and Rs 11,926 crore in the public sector. In public sectorthe Central sector investment (from the Ministries of Railways, SurfaceTransport and Telecom) is expected to be Rs 2,916 crore and state sectorinvestment will be Rs 9,010 crore. In the State sectors investment programme,the projects required to be funded jointly by NCRPB and participating Statesare to the tune of Rs 6,300 crore. The Board has approved 123 projectscosting Rs 2,280 crore. The Board has granted a loan of Rs 1,210 crore,out of which a sum of Rs 665.76 has been released to Haryana, Rajasthanand Uttar Pradesh during 1998-99.

URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES

The National Commission on Urbanisation (NCU) set up by the Governmentof India in 1988 recommended that the amelioration of urban poverty shouldbe accorded the same priority as that given to rural poverty. As a follow-up of the recommendations of the NCU, the Government of India in 1989adopted a four-pronged strategy of addressing the issues of growingincidence of poverty in urban areas comprising: (a) employment creationfor low-income communities through promotion of micro-enterprises andpublic works; (b) housing and shelter upgradation; (c) social developmentplanning with special focus on development of children and women; and(d) environmental upgradation of slums. The Government of India launchedtwo schemes for the betterment of urban poor. These were (i) The NehruRozgar Yojana (NRY) launched in 1989 to cater to the economic needs tothe urban poor by providing them employment opportunities through skillupgradation and assistance in setting up their own micro-enterprises; and(ii) The Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP) which was a modifiedUBS programme (started in 1990). The NRY and UBSP are based onbeneficiary approach and community approach respectively. Thus, duringthe fag end of the Seventh Plan period, the Government of India startedadopting all three approaches, i.e., the area approach under the EIUSscheme; beneficiary approach under the NRY scheme; and communityapproach under the UBSP programme.

In the Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97), the participatory approach hadbecome the fulcrum for urban poverty alleviation programmes and sought

Housingto be strengthened. The Prime Minister s Integrated Urban PovertyEradication Programme (PMIUPEP) for improving the quality of life of urbanpoor by creating a facilitating environment for them through communitybased planning and implementation was launched in 1995. The PMIUPEPsought to address the problems of urban poverty with a multi-pronged longterm strategy which envisaged bringing community based organisations(CBOs) to the centre of the development process, by facilitating directparticipation of the targeted groups who are expected to benefit from thisprogramme. The important feature of the Prime Ministers programme isthat the UBSP model of community-based organisation has been adoptedand forms the foundation of the programme. Services have to be providedby involving these organisations as far as possible.

During the process of implementation of the UPA schemes it wasobserved that NRY, UBSP and PMIUPEP, which were launched at differenttimes, have overlapping features. The PMIUPEP incorporates within itselfall the components of UBSP as also the self-employment, physical infrastructurecreation component, and the shelter upgradation components of NRY.However, the PMIUPEP, as mentioned earlier applies only to Class II urbanagglomerations whereas the NRY applies to all other towns and the UBSPapplies to selected towns only. There are some dissimilarities between theseprogrammes as well. The NRY and PMIUPEP (the latter launched six yearsafter the former) differ widely on vital ingredients such as definition offamily, amount of available subsidies, the amount of loan, both for self-employment and for the shelter upgradation components, etc. Efforts havebeen undertaken to rationalise the parameters of the two schemes.

SWARNA JAYANTI SHAHARI ROZGAR YOJANA

The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) has been launched as areplacement for Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY), Urban Basic Services for thePoor (UBSP), and Prime Ministers Integrated Urban Poverty EradicationProgramme (PMI-UPEP) on 1 December 1997. The SJSRY seeks to providegainful employment to the urban unemployed or under-employed poorthrough encouraging the setting up of self-employment ventures or provisionof wage employment. The Yojana is funded on a 75:25 basis between theCentre and the States. The scheme consists of two special schemes, namely:(a) The Urban Self Employment Programme (USEP); and (b) The Urban WageEmployment Programme (UWEP).

The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana rests on a foundation ofcommunity empowerment. It aims at establishing and promoting communityorganisations and structures to provide supporting and facilitating mechanismfor local development. Towards this end community organisations likeNeighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Neighbourhood Committees (NHCs), andCommunity Development Societies (CDSs) are to be set up in the targetareas based on the UBSP pattern. The CDSs shall be the focal point forpurposes of identification of beneficiaries, preparation of application,monitoring of recovery and generally providing whatever other support is

Housingnecessary to the programme. The CDSs will also identify viable projectssuitable for that particular area.

The CDSs, being a federation of different community-based organisations,shall be the nodal agency for this programme. It is expected that they willlay emphasis on providing the entire gamut of social sector inputs to theirareas including, but not limited to, health, welfare, education, etc., byestablishing convergence between schemes being implemented by the differentdepartments within their jurisdiction. During 1998-99 Rs 82.62 crore werereleased under USEP, Rs 48.75 crore under UWEP and Rs 27.10 crore underCommunity Structure Component to all the States/UTs under SJSRY.

URBAN SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME

This programme has three distinct parts: (i) Assistance to individual urbanpoor beneficiaries for setting up gainful self-employment ventures; (ii)Assistance to groups of urban poor women for setting up gainful self-employment ventures. This sub-scheme is called The Scheme for Developmentof Women and Children in the Urban Areas (DWCUA); and (iii) Trainingof beneficiaries, potential beneficiaries and other persons associated with theurban employment programme for upgradation and acquisition of vocationaland entrepreneurial skills. The programme will be applicable to all urbantowns in India and implemented on a whole-town basis with specialemphasis on urban poor clusters. It will target the urban poor, as those livingbelow the urban poverty-line, as defined from time to time. Special attentionwill be given to women, persons belonging to scheduled castes/tribes,disabled persons and other such categories as may be indicated by theGovernment from time to time. The percentage of women beneficiaries underthis programme shall not be less than 30 per cent. There will be no minimumeducational qualification for beneficiaries under this programme. However,this scheme shall not apply to beneficiaries educated beyond the IX standard.The number of beneficiaries assisted up to 30 April 1999 was 69,432.

DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN URBAN AREAS

Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) aims athelping groups of urban poor women in taking up self-employment ventures.The group should consist of at least 10 women. The ceiling of subsidy underthe scheme is Rs 1.25 lakh or 50 per cent of the cost of project whicheveris less. Where the group sets itself up as Thrift and Credit Society, in additionto its self-employment ventures, it will be eligible for an additional grantof Rs 25,000 as Revolving Fund at the rate of Rs 1,000 maximum per member.The Fund is meant for purposes like purchase of raw materials andmarketing, infrastructure support, one time expense on child care activity,expenses up to Rs 500 on travel cost of group members to bank, paymentof insurance premium for self/spouse/child by maintaining savings fordifferent periods by a member and any other expense allowed by the Statein the groups interest. The Revolving Fund can be availed by a grouponly after one year of its formation.

HousingURBAN WAGE EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME

This programme shall seek to provide wage employment to beneficiariesliving below the poverty-line within the jurisdiction of urban local bodiesby utilising their labour for construction of socially and economically usefulpublic assets. The programme shall apply to urban local bodies, thepopulation of which was less than five lakh as per the 1991 Census. Thematerial labour ratio for works under this programme shall be maintainedat 60:40. The prevailing minimum wage rate, as notified from time to timefor each area, shall be paid to the beneficiaries under this programme. Upto 30 April 1999, 194.74 lakh beneficiaries were covered and 76.40 lakhmandays of work generated by the States/UTs.

CHRONOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHTS

1960 The National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC)incorporated as a Public Sector Undertaking (November).

1969 National Cooperative Housing Federation of India set up.

1970 The Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited(HUDCO) set up as a fully owned Government Company(April).

1976 The National Institute of Urban Affairs set up.

1979-80 The scheme of integrated development of small and mediumtowns initiated.

1985 The National Capital Region Planning Board constituted(March).

1993-94 The Mega city scheme launched.

1996 National Slum Development Programme (NSDP) launched(August).

1997 The Union Cabinet approves the Swarna Jayanti Shahari RojagarYojana.

1998 HUDCO sanctions schemes for construction of overone lakh houses under the two million housing programme.

A new Housing and Habitat Policy formulated is laid beforethe Parliament (July).