(a) whether a number of homeless people live in public spaces like footpaths underneath flyovers etc. throughout the country and if so, the details thereof; and
(b) whether there is any programme to rehabilitate them and provide them with necessary skills and education, especially to children and if so, the details thereof?
(a)&(b) It is the primary responsibility of Governments of the States/ Union Territories to provide shelter for the urban homeless. However, in order to complement their efforts, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is administering ‘Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH)’ under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), through respective States/UTs. It focuses on providing permanent shelters equipped with basic facilities to the urban homeless. The State/UT Project Sanctioning Committee (PSC) is competent to approve proposals for establishment of shelters.
The guidelines of SUH prescribe systematic third party surveys to be undertaken in cities/towns by the urban local bodies in order to assess the need for shelters. So far, 2,05,783 urban homeless have been identified.
The shelters under DAY-NULM are a space for convergence and provision of entitlements of social security, including admission of the children of the homeless to government schools, skill training under DAY-NULM and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The Shelter Management Agency (SMA), Shelter Management Committee and Executive Committee would be responsible to ensure availability of these entitlements and benefits to the homeless.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is implementing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) since 25.06.2015 for providing assistance to States/UTs for addressing the housing requirement of eligible urban households. PMAY-U Mission envisages to provide all weather pucca houses with basic civic infrastructure like water, sanitation, sewerage, road, electricity etc. to all eligible urban households.
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