The development of slums under the Pradhan Mantri Awaz Yojana (PMAY), which takes the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route, might not yield the desired results going by the government’s experience in executing a similar project at Rajaji Nagar here.

The State government’s plan was to use 5.26 acres of the total of 11.2 acres of land at Rajaji Nagar (Chenkalchoola) to construct flats for 1,000 families and use the rest to build a commercial complex. Residents went up in arms against the project, refusing to cede an inch of land for commercial purposes, forcing the government to abandon the project last week.

The slum development plan under PMAY follows a similar model. The housing projects until now were executed with the majority funding of the Central and State governments, and rest shared by the local body and the beneficiaries. The PMAY for the first time brings in the PPP model in housing projects for the poor.

Under the project, houses will be constructed at slums where up to 60-70 families live. The government will provide a grant of Rs.1 lakh for each house. Private parties, who will develop the slum will in return get a part of the land for free, which they can exploit commercially. This clause will cause trouble for the local body in most slums which it is planning to redevelop.

In addition, the private players will be given relaxation in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). The relaxation on FAR is transferable to other locations too, which means a private player by virtue of developing a slum can get exemptions in FAR (ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built) at its commercial spaces elsewhere.

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