Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, is a federal ministry with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in India. The ministry was under the charge of Venkaiah Naidu and was given to Hardeep Singh Puri when Naidu was elected Vice President of India. The Ministry became independent of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in 2004, but was later re-merged with it in 2017.
Scenario of urbanization
- As per the Census of India 2011, the population of India is 1,210.50 million, of which 377.10 million (31.2 per cent) is urban and 833.40 million (68.8 per cent) is rural. The urban population is located in 7,933 towns, comprising 4,041 statutory towns and 3,892 census towns.
- At current rate of growth, urban population estimated to reach a staggering 575 million by 2030 and 875 million by 2050.
- The 2030 development agenda of the United Nations has emphasized the role of sustainable cities by incorporating Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), i.e., Sustainable Cities and Communities for making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- Urban development is a state subject and the Constitution (Seventy-Fourth) Amendment Act, 1992 enjoins upon the state governments to delegate many functions to urban local bodies.
- Government of India, however, plays a coordinating and monitoring role and also supports various urban housing programmes, urban livelihood mission and overall urban development through Central and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the nodal Ministry for planning and coordination of urban transport matters at the central level.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All
- Mission Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) for ensuring housing for all in urban areas was launched in 2015 which is to be implemented during 2015-22.
- The Mission provides central assistance to all eligible families/ beneficiaries across all statutory towns for houses included under the mission.
- To address Housing for All in the urban area, the Mission has four verticals:
- In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) with participation of private developers using land as resource for providing housing to eligible slum dwellers;
- affordable housing through credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS now renamed as CLSS for EWS/LIG);
- Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) with public and private sectors; and
- Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancements.
- The coverage of the Mission is now extended to the entire urban areas consisting of all statutory towns and areas.
Smart Cities Mission
- The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions.
- The core infrastructure elements in a smart city would include: adequate water supply; assured electricity supply; sanitation, including solid waste management; efficient urban mobility and public transport; robust IT connectivity and digitalization; sustainable environment etc.
- Under it, 100 Smart Cities have been selected in 4 Rounds based on All India Competition. All 100 cities have incorporated Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), City Level Advisory Forums (CLAFs) and appointed Project Management Consultants (PMCs).
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
- The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched in 2015. In all, 500 cities have been included in the Mission.
- It is a centrally sponsored scheme with a total outlay of rupees one lakh crore including a Central Assistance of ₹ 50,000 crore spread over 5 years i.e., from 2015-16 to 2019-2020. The balance share of ₹ 50,000 crore has to come from states and ULBs.
- The Mission focuses on development of basic urban infrastructure in the specified cities with the following expected outcomes:
- universal coverage for access to potable water for every household;
- substantial improvement in coverage and treatment capacities of sewerage;
- developing city parks;
- reform implementation and capacity building.
Heritage City Development
- The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), a central sector scheme of the Government of India was launched in 2015 with the objective of preserving the heritage character of each Heritage City.
- By November 2018, the scheme is being implemented in 12 identified cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has been implementing a centrally sponsored scheme Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) since 2013 for reducing the poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households.
- The Mission covers all the statutory towns in the country, to be decided by the state as per local need and capability.
Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016
- Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) was passed by the Parliament in March, 2016 heralding a new era of transformation in the real estate sector.
- The core objective of this transformative legislation is to ensure regulation and promotion of real estate sector efficiently and to protect the interest of home buyers.
Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihoods and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014
- The objective of the Act is to protect the rights of urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities.
- States/UTs (with legislature) are the appropriate government for framing of Rules and Schemes under the Act for their respective states/UTs.
Urban Transport
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is the nodal Ministry for planning and coordination of Urban Transport matters at the central level.
- However, technical planning of rail transport continues to be with Ministry of Railways. Similarly, road transport is the responsibility of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- National Urban Transport Policy, 2006: The policy seeks to promote integrated land use and transport planning, greater use of public transport and non-motorized modes of travel along with use of cleaner technologies.
- I-Metros (Indian Metro Rail Organisations’ Society): A platform to exchange ideas, pooling of knowledge and sharing of experience, best practices, innovations etc. among the Indian metro rail companies to nurture excellence in performance, was launched in March 2018.
- Metro Rail Policy: The policy was launched for ascertaining and enhancing the feasibility of metro rail projects from economic, social and environmental perspective.
