Housing for All/PMAY (Urban), the massive countrywide and well intentioned program of investment and private assets creation which primarily aims to reach the inadequately housed low income groups through accelerated supply of affordable housing is an important national program in the context of rapid urbanization; prevailing housing stress in the cities; high cost of land and other inputs; worsening slum situation in the metropolitan and other large sized cities; almost dried up rental housing supply; less than convincing record of the private and the public sector builders/providers in terms of quantity of production, quality of accommodation, cost of “affordable” houses and sustainability inputs in construction; uninspiring performance of the planning and regulatory systems and local bodies in provision and maintenance of infrastructure and other basic social services; absence of intuitional arrangements for maintenance, repair and retrofitting of the existing housing stock and affordability limits of a majority of the intended beneficiaries and users. It is essential that the PMAY program succeeds and in the process fixes up the delivery system in its multiple forms and linkages.

Considering that the housing deficit is primarily among the economically weaker sections and the low-income group families, emphasis is obviously on the affordable housing segment. To give momentum to the program, besides creating 4 verticals—

1. Rehabilitation of slum dwellers with participation of private developers using land as a resource,

2. Promotion of affordable housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy,

3. Affordable housing in partnership with public and private sectors, and

4. Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction—

to address needs of different sections of the population, activate different modes of delivery system, and bridge affordability gap to the extent possible, the govt. has taken enabling policy decisions that include infrastructure status to affordable housing; tax incentives to builders and buyers for affordable housing, resource allocation and enhanced role of private sector in the delivery of affordable housing.

Progress of PMAY

Introduced in June 2015 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) /Housing for All aims to construct 20 million (2 crore) houses by 2022. Till date, 5.10 million houses have been sanctioned for construction, 2.9 million (29 lacs) have been under construction and, 0.75 million (7.5 lacs) have been completed. The investment figure is close to Rs 2.8 lac Crores.

Considering that Gujarat is one of the top performing states in the country in this program and PMAY is almost at the half way mark in its 2022 target journey, a group of nearly ten agencies that include academic institutions, research agencies, associations of professionals and NGOs active in the human settlements development field for a long time, with the active engagement and support of the Government of Gujarat, has planned a one day event to bring some of the key performers, both the public sector agencies and the private builders, from the different cities of the state to share the work done, methods employed, performance achieved and lessons learnt. That is the way to do more and perform better.

About the Event

The event is called “Round Table Conference on Achievements and Opportunities of PMAY In Gujarat”. It is planned for 1st September 2018 in Ahmedabad at H T Parekh Hall, AMA. Some 200 participants are expected from all over the state.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together individuals and organizations planning and implementing PMAY’s affordable housing projects in various cities of Gujarat, both from the public and the private sector; those studying and researching related policies and programs; subject experts and specialists, and other stakeholders to learn about the progress and achievements on the ground, to share ideas and experiences and think of ways to further strengthen the program in the state and provide valuable feedback to others engaged in similar pursuits.

State of Gujarat

According to the official data of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, Gujarat is among the top five states which are performing well in this programme since it has constructed most number of houses for the urban poor under the Centre’s flagship housing scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)’ in the country till June 2018. Total of 171 cities are selected under PMAY(U). As many as 1.11 lakh houses have been constructed in Gujarat since 2014-15 under the scheme (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 2018). This accounts for 14.03 per cent of the 7.93 lakh total houses constructed in 36 states and UTs in the country. Gujarat has received central assistance of Rs 2,673 crore out of Rs 4,336 crore sanctioned for construction of these houses.

The context of the country’s urban housing challenge, to be seen in the context of both the estimated shortage of 18.78 million units and the government’s ambitious Housing for All programme that seeks to construct 20 million houses by 2022, learning from a program like Gujarat’s, which has shown positive outcomes, is quite essential and useful. Understanding what has worked well and knowing what inputs and changes will further improve the program performance will go a long way in strengthening the program.

Co-hosted by:

Government of Gujarat, and

1. Ahmedabad Study Action Group (ASAG)

2. All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)

3. Centre for Urban Equity - CEPT University

4. Confederation of Real estate Developers Associations’ of India Gujarat (CREDAI)

5. Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED)

6. Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers and Architects (GICEA)

7. Habitat Forum (INHAF)

8. Mahila Housing Trust (MHT)

9. Nirma Institute of Architecture and Planning

10. Saath Charitable Trust