Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal Inaugurates National Workshop On Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0.

New Delhi, Delhi, 18th of November, 2024 : Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power , Shri Manohar Lal, inaugurated the national workshop on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0) in New Delhi today (18^th November 2024), organised by the Ministry in partnership with Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO). The event was attended by of Shri Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (JS&MD), Housing for All (HFA), Shri Sanjay Kulshrestha, Chairman and Managing Director, HUDCO and senior officials of the Ministry. Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of different States/UTs, PMAY-U Mission Directors of States/UTs also participated in the workshop.

Addressing the distinguished audience, the Hon’ble Minister began his speech by saying that housing for all is subject of immense importance. “Everyone dreams of having a home, and your own house brings a lot of happiness in your lives. Hon’ble Prime Minister brought the PMAY scheme for the people to make their dream of owning a pucca house true. I salute the Hon’ble Prime Minister for this visionary scheme to transform the lives of people,” Hon’ble Minister said.

Hon’ble Minister highlighted about the PMAY-U 2.0 Scheme, its impact on economy and allied sectors, creation of more than 3 crore estimated employment opportunities for people. He emphasised on effective implementation of PMAY-U 2.0 and responsive governance so that the benefits reach the last mile, impacting every eligible family positively.

Lauding the efforts of the States/UTs, Hon’ble Minister said that States/UTs have played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of PMAY-U. He added that their tireless efforts are also required in implementation of PMAY-U 2.0.

“The dream of every family of having a pucca roof over their heads will be fulfilled with the scheme and I am happy to see officials from States/UTs putting their best foot forward to achieve the goal. Your participation is crucial at every step. This workshop will take you through the implementation model of PMAY-U 2.0 and I hope we will together make a difference in the society,” Hon’ble Minister said while speaking to the officials from States/UTs.

Hon’ble Minister spoke about the Affordable Rental Housing which has been introduced as a separate vertical for the first time in a housing scheme to provide adequate affordable rental accommodation to working women and industrial workers. “It will be beneficial for those who do not want to construct a house due to financial constraints or other reasons. However, financial reasons will not hinder them from the opportunity to have a pucca roof over their heads along with dignified living,” Hon’ble Minister said.

Centred on the theme of implementation of PMAY-U 2.0, the workshop saw participation of more than 250 officials and various stakeholders related to the affordable housing sector. The objective of this workshop was to disseminate about PMAY-U 2.0, its approach, methodologies and effectively articulate the roadmap for the Scheme’s implementation across the urban areas of the country.

The national workshop fostered knowledge exchange, provided a common platform for all stakeholders to come together and network for effective and smooth implementation PMAY-U 2.0 and encourage dissemination of best practices adopted by States/UTs, paving the way for a more robust, sustainable and inclusive affordable housing ecosystem in India.

PMAY-U 2.0 is currently in the implementation phase with more than 25 States/UTs having signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with MoHUA. Officials from States/UTs exchanged the MoAs with the Ministry in the presence of Hon’ble Minister. It marked a significant step towards ensuring successful implementation of the scheme to provide affordable housing to people.

Shri Kuldip Narayan, JS&MD, HFA gave an overview of PMAY-U, the progress made under the Scheme and the milestones achieved over the years. About 90 lakh houses have been constructed under PMAY-U. He also presented a way forward for implementation of PMAY-U 2.0. He highlighted that the States/UTs form the strength of the Scheme and each State/UT to strive to create benchmarks for implementing PMAY-U 2.0 at every level to provide pucca house, along with quality of life to those in need.

“PMAY-U is one of the largest urban affordable housing programmes of the world owing to its magnitude of implementation. We have designed PMAY-U 2.0 with learnings from PMAY-U and consultation with States/UTs and academicians. There is a bouquet of choices for States/UTs for reforms and we should learn from each other to implement the Scheme in a systematic manner and ensure every State/UT has an affordable housing policy,” JS&MD said while highlighting that the target is not just to construct 1 crore houses, but also provide quality of life to families and to develop affordable housing ecosystem.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Sanjay Kulshrestha, CMD, HUDCO stated that the organisation is committed to be an integral part in the implementation process of PMAY-U 2.0. HUDCO has played an important role in success of PMAY-U and he further assured that they will facilitate home loans under the Scheme. HUDCO is one of the Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) for implementation of ISS vertical of the Scheme.

Post the address of the dignitaries, four parallel breakout sessions were held. State/UT officials participated in the sessions and shared their insights on topics such as “Affordable Housing Policy and Reforms undertaken by States/UTs”, “Various models in Promotion of Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) vertical”, “Promotion of Rental Housing with focus on Working Women and Industrial Workers” and “Use of Innovative Construction Technologies in Affordable Housing and Beneficiary Led Construction”.

State/UT officials shared their valuable insights on the topics and presented and analysed the specific strategies, policies and reforms. Each group outlined the affordable housing policy framework in their respective State/UT and highlighted the objectives, goals and regulatory frameworks aimed adopted by them at promoting affordable housing under PMAY-U. The discussions focussed on wide range of topics including land acquisition, models to make more land available for affordable housing projects, funding and financial models to make beneficiaries avail home loans, urban planning and infrastructure, focusing on creating sustainable and liveable housing, implementation challenges, best practices and success stories, use of innovative construction technologies, IEC activities, among others. The breakout sessions allowed States/UTs to exchange knowledge, learn from each other’s experiences for implementing affordable housing strategies in an efficient, sustainable and inclusive manner.

Post the breakout session, JS&MD explained to the participants the way forward strategy for PMAY-U 2.0 and involvement of States/UTs in implementation of the Scheme, including the Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS) vertical.

The participants of the workshop were also introduced to the unified web portal of PMAY-U 2.0 scheme. The portal can be accessed by all stakeholders such as States/UTs, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs)/Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) and beneficiaries. It is a user-friendly platform that allows applicants to apply directly for the Scheme, thus simplifying the application process and making it more accessible. The portal allows beneficiaries to know the status of application, modalities of data exchange among stakeholders, ensures faster due-diligence and release of subsidy and helps in monitoring and evaluating the PMAY-U 2.0 Scheme.

Eligible individuals, families can apply for PMAY-U 2.0 Scheme at: https://pmaymis.gov.in/PMAYMIS2_2024/PmayDefault.aspx.

In pursuance of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All, the Government is implementing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban since June 2015 to ensure pucca houses to eligible beneficiaries in cities. PMAY-U has transformed the lives of millions of families for whom a pucca house was once a distant dream. A pucca house is associated with quality of life, self-respect, dignity and better future.

The success of the Scheme is the collective efforts of States/UTs/ULBs. The Government worked in the spirit of cooperative federalism with all powers of appraisal, approval and modalities of implementation being delegated to States/UTs.

In June 2024, the Government resolved to provide assistance to 3 crore additional rural and urban households for the construction of houses to meet the housing requirements arising out of the increase in the number of eligible families. Accordingly, PMAY-U 2.0 was approved by the Union Cabinet in August 2024 and subsequently launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister in September 2024.

PMAY-U 2.0 has been launched with an objective to provide pucca houses to 1 crore people of urban India. The Scheme will empower urban poor and middle-class families by giving them secured houses to focus on the betterment of their lives. It will promote inclusive urban development and ensure equity across different segments of population by addressing the housings requirement of slum dwellers, different income groups, SC/STs, minorities, widows, Persons with Disabilities, women and other underprivileged sections of the society.

PMAY-U 2.0 will address the affordable housing requirement in urban areas through four verticals, namely Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) and Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS).

As a part of PMAY-U 2.0, Technology and Innovation Sub-Mission (TISM) has been set up to guide and facilitate States/UTs and other stakeholders in adoption of modern, innovative and green technologies and building materials for faster and quality construction of houses.

The PMAY-U 2.0 Scheme will achieve the vision of ‘Housing for All’ by fulfilling the housing dreams of EWS/LIG/MIG segments. Special focus will be given to Safai Karmi, street vendors identified under PMSVANidhi Scheme and different artisans under Pradhan Mantri-Vishwakarma Scheme, anganwadi workers, building and other construction workers, residents of slums/chawls and other groups identified during operation of PMAY-U 2.0.

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