Question : IMPLEMENTATION OF RAJIV AWAS YOJANA

(a): the present status of phase-I of the Rajiv Awas Yojana(RAY) and the cities/towns identified for construction of houses so far , State-wise;

(b): whether the Government proposes to construct three or four storey houses under RAY in the country;

(c): if so, the details thereof, cities/town-wise;

(d): the criteria adopted, funds sanctioned/released and utilised for the purpose, State-wise; and

(e): the manner in which the Government is working with the railways and other agencies to redevelop or relocate the urban slums in the country including Andhra Pradesh?

THE MINISTER OF HOUSING & URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION(KUMARI SELJA)

(a): In pursuance of the Governments’ vision of creating a Slum Free India, a new scheme ‘Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) has been launched on 02.06.2011. Phase-I of RAY is for a period of 2 years from the date of approval of the scheme. 8 Pilot Projects of five states ( Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad, Madhya Pradesh – Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore and Sagar, Kerala – Thiruvanthapuram, Orissa – Bhubaneswar and Rajasthan – Jaipur) with total project cost of Rs. 446.22 crores involving central assistance of Rs. 197.09 crores have been approved under RAY. The first installment of Rs. 65.69 Crores has been released to the concerned states.

(b) (c) & (d) : As per RAY guidelines regarding selection of cities, States would be required to include all the mission cities of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), preferably cities with more than 3 lakh population as per 2001 Census; and other smaller cities, with due consideration to the criterion of pace of growth of the city, of slums within the city; of predominance of minority population; areas where property rights already stand assigned. In the case of North-Eastern States and special category States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), where town sizes are very small, criteria other than population may be adopted. However, priority should be accorded by all States to towns with larger number of people living in slums.

The 8 Pilot Projects sanctioned under Phase 1 of RAY include single storey as well as two and three storey houses. The details of the 8 Pilot Projects sanctioned under RAY is at Annexure-I.

(e): Slum is a state subject. Under Rajiv Awas Yojana guidelines, State Governments including Government of Andhra Pradesh, Central Ministries including Railways and others agencies are to work in cooperation, to redevelop or relocate slums, duly availing financial assistance from the Ministry, and other support needed if any.