THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Government issuing nod for 1.97 lakh houses for the state under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) - the Centre-state sponsored housing scheme — has come as a heavy blow to the cash-strapped state government.
Currently, PMAY houses are being constructed under state government’s LIFE Mission. The total cost of a house is Rs 4 lakh and the Centre’s contribution is Rs 72,000 per house.
The Centre had put the project on hold for Kerala for three years due to dispute over branding. Now the sanction has been issued after the state made clear that it would not follow the central norms on branding. With Centre sanctioning 1.97 lakh houses, the state is grappling with multiple challenges including unscientific parameters for selection of beneficiaries and finding its share of funds for implementing the project.
The state government has already provided houses for over 4 lakh people under LIFE Mission — a state-sponsored housing scheme. Over 1 lakh houses are under construction currently under the scheme. The state is giving Rs 4 lakh for the beneficiaries of the LIFE Mission scheme.
LSGD Minister M B Rajesh told TNIE that PMAY scheme is a huge financial burden on the state government and a meeting will be held soon to discuss the way forward to implement the project.
He said that as per the new norms, the Centre is allowing co-branding. However, the state has decided not to brand the houses as it may imply charity, potentially affecting the dignity and self-respect of beneficiaries.
“For implementing the project, the state needs to raise around Rs 10,000 crore. As per the state government’s policy, the state allots Rs 4 lakh (including central share) for each beneficiary. As per the PMAY scheme, the Centre gives only Rs 72,000 per housing unit and the rest needs to be raised by the state,” he said. Rajesh said there are around eight lakh people on LIFE Mission beneficiary list.
He pointed out that the state share for the housing scheme is the highest in the country. It would be a huge challenge as over four times more fund is required for each allotted dwelling unit.
“As per PMAY norms, the state needs to chip in only Rs 48,000. However, it’s inadequate in Kerala’s circumstances. The two options before the government are either to go ahead with the state share mandated by the Centre or give the same funding like LIFE Mission. It’s very unlikely that the state would take a decision to allot only Rs 48,000 as Rs 4 lakh is the benchmark set by the government,” he said.
As per PMAY norms, the minimum unit size is 25 sq m, and according to officials the standard set by the state government for housing schemes is 750 sq ft. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 64 crore. “The state has allotted Rs 110 crore for the project now. PMAY is not offering any funds for land purchases and many of the parameters are not feasible for Kerala,” said an official associated with the project.
The new norms also give priority to SC/ST beneficiaries, and according to sources direct targets have been given to each panchayat to find such beneficiaries. “It’s impractical target and instead of giving the rights to the state to decide the beneficiaries, the centre has given a direct target to the panchayat which is not a good way. The state is already giving Rs 6 lakh for SC/ST beneficiaries under LIFE Mission,” an official added.