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Housing constitutes a very basic requirement for
human survival. It assumes great significance for the
rural poor in that it lays the foundation for a life of
dignity for them by dispelling the gloom of
shelterlessness and conferring a distinct, secure
identity. Addressing housing shortage is thus an
important strategy of poverty alleviation in India. The
2001 Census places the rural housing shortage figure in
India at 148 lakhs . The Bharat Nirman Programme has
recognised and accorded due priority to the need to end
shelterlessness and it is envisaged to construct 60 lakh
houses over the next four years across the country,
starting from 2005-06.
The rural housing programme is implemented by the
Ministry of Rural Development through the Indira Awaas
Yojana scheme, which is a centrally sponsored scheme
where the cost is shared between the Centre and the
States on a 75:25 basis. The criteria adopted for
allocation of financial resources between the States/UTs
gives greater emphasis to the states with higher
incidence of shelterlessness. 75% weightage is given to
housing shortage and 25% weightage to the poverty ratios
prescribed by the Planning Commission for State-level
allocations. For district-level allocations, 75 %
weightage is given again to housing shortage and 25 % to
SC/ST component of the population. Grant assistance is
provided to the extent of Rs. 25,000 per house for
normal areas and Rs. 27,500 for hilly areas. Funds are
released to the DRDAs in two installments.
The implementation guidelines of the scheme specifically
target the rural below poverty line (BPL) households.
The selection of beneficiaries is done by the respective
Gram Sabha from the BPL list and no higher approval is
required. The guidelines also clearly specify that the
house allotment should be in the name of the female
member of the family as a first priority. While seeking
to empower the rural women, the scheme also provides a
quota for physically & mentally challenged persons,
ex-servicemen, widows and freed bonded labourers. An
important requirement in the implementation is that at
least 60% of the beneficiaries should belong to the
SC/ST communities. The objective of alleviating the lot
of the underprivileged members of society is built into
the scheme guidelines. The IAY scheme also lays emphasis
on individual sanitation and health by incorporating the
cost of a sanitary latrine and smokeless chulha into the
grant.
Various state governments have responded to the housing
programme by placing it at the top end of their
development priorities, thereby imparting great vigour
to the implementation process. While the implementation
lies with the DRDAs, the houses are constructed by the
individual beneficiaries themselves, with absolute
freedom of choice over the design. The scheme is closely
monitored by an extensive network at the district, state
and national level to ensure right selection and
effectiveness in the implementation mechanism
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