The government of India is set to launch two mega scheme- Rurban Mission and Housing for All to provide urban amenities in village clusters and housing for all. These scheme expected to get a place in the next budget.
The Prime Minister of India would unveil the schemes in his upcoming four rallies in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. According to the source, both the scheme would be launched within the weeks. According to the statement, the Rurban Mission will be launched on 21 February 2016. The ministry has identified 300 cluster of 20 villages each across India with population ranging from 25,000 to 50,000.
These area will be developed as economic hubs for skilled rural youth to get jobs near their villages by the government. To improve the infrastructure development of these area, the plan for roads, electricity and broadband internet will soon rollout by the government.
The name of second scheme defines the target of the scheme. Housing for All- It is the most ambitious scheme announced by Bharatiya Janata Party in the mid of 2014. The scheme announced with the promise to fulfill the dream of housing for all by 2022. Housing for all in urban areas, covering almost 2 crore households, has already been launched. But a similar plan for rural areas, covering 2.95 crore households, has been delayed by three months.
In this regard, the Prime Minister has constituted a team of 11 senior ministers to expedite the plan. The team includes Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Rural Development Minister Birender Singh, among others. According to sources, the group of ministers will prepare a report, on the basis of which a proposal will be sent to the Cabinet for approval.
According to the statement of Birender Singh Minister of Rural Development, we expect the (Budget’s) stress on the social sector. If you see the trend of the last two budgets, larger allocations have been made for the social sector. Both, the PM and the FM have indicated, in a way, that social sector and agriculture would get priority. They are thinking of 70 per cent of our population. He also added that the housing scheme should include those who are not covered by the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC). Towards this, the Centre is planning to set up appellate authority in each district for villagers to appeal. Based on the merit of an application, housing would be provided to rural poor irrespective of whether their details are mentioned in the SECC or not.
To implement this schemes, the government is likely to hike the budgetary allocation for 2016-17 from Rs 14,000 crore last year. Of this, around, 10,000 crore was for Indira Awas Yojana (IAY). . Modi’s ‘Housing for All’ scheme for rural India would not only subsume IAY, but would also overhaul it by doubling the allocation for construction of houses, expanding the unit size and improving the identification process. The revamped scheme would also hike the per unit construction subsidy.
The fund granted for construction of one housing unit under IAY is Rs 70,000 in plain areas and Rs 75,000 for hilly and difficult areas. This has been found to be grossly inadequate because of increase in construction cost. Officials said per unit allocation might be doubled from the current levels. They said apart from giving subsidy for construction of a dwelling, the dwelling would also be provided cheap power through ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana,’ a single-point water connection through the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and facility to avail MGNREGA labour for construction of houses. The Rural Development Ministry has also allowed beneficiaries under IAY to engage MGNREGA job card holders for construction of houses beyond the stipulated 100 days in a year. This would enable speedier completion of houses and also provide extra income to card holders who want more work in times of rural distress.
According to the source, It is expected in the budgetary allocation for the Rurban Mission from Rs. 270 crore allocated in 2015-16. On this Birender Singh added that the objective is to create physical infrastructure and connectivity from villages to nearest township. This will help the skilled youth get exposure to opportunities. Economic activity near the villages might also ensure less migration to bigger towns and cities. But for this to become a reality, only infrastructure isn’t sufficient. We will need to create economic activity.
Source: www.business-standard.com