NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared affordable rental housing complexes for migrant workers. The sub-scheme, part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, aims to extend rental housing to three lakh migrant workers.
The Cabinet approved providing over one lakh houses built under the PMAY to migrant workers on rent with the aim to facilitate stay of such people near their workplaces. Briefing reporters, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said municipal corporations and local bodies will fix rentals to be paid by the workers. The Centre will release `600 crore in the form of ‘Technology Innovation Grant’ for projects, which would adopt identified innovative technologies for construction.
“The Union Cabinet has given its approval for developing Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs) for urban migrants and poor as a sub-scheme under PMAY-Urban. The existing vacant government-funded housing complexes will be converted into ARHCs through concession agreements for 25 years,” the government said.
The Cabinet proposal mandates that the concessionaire would make the complexes livable by repair/retrofit and maintenance of rooms and filling up infrastructure gaps such as water, sewer and other amenities. States and UTs will select concessionaire through transparent bidding, said the government statement.
The Cabinet also allowed financial incentives to private builders to develop such rental housing complexes, with benefits including additional 50 per cent Floor Area Ratio, tax relief and priority sector lending. Such housing complexes will provide rental facilities to the migrant workers for 25 years.
The government hopes the scheme will encourage better living conditions for migrant workers along with their absorption in the organised sector via mapping of their skills.