a) whether the Government has conducted any survey in respect of urban homeless poor persons in the country;
b) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Gujarat;
c) the details of the schemes/ programmes for such homeless persons;
d) whether the Government has revisited policy for management of frequent urban flooding and if so, the details thereof; and
e) the steps taken by the Government to ensure local bodies are prepared to handle urban flooding?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
(SHRI KAUSHAL KISHORE)
(a): The guidelines of Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) component of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana– National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) prescribe systematic third party surveys to be undertaken in cities/towns by the urban local bodies to identify the number of urban homeless to assess the need for shelters.
(b): The details of urban homeless identified by 27 States/UTs, including Gujarat, as on 25.03.2022, is at Annexure-I.
(c): It is the primary responsibility of Governments of the States/ Union Territories to provide shelter for urban homeless. However, in order to complement their efforts, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is administering a scheme SUHunder DAY-NULM, through respective States/UTs. It focuses on providing permanent shelters equipped with basic facilities to the urban homeless. As reported by States/UTs, so far, 1,678 shelters are operational.
Further, Ministry is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) through States/Union Territories (UTs) for providing all- weather pucca houses to eligible urban households including homeless. States/UTs have conducted a demand survey to assess the demand for such housing for eligible beneficiaries. Based on the project proposals submitted by States/UTs, 115.5 lakh houses have been sanctioned. Out of these 95.2 lakh houses have been grounded for construction; of which 56.4 lakh have been completed and delivered to beneficiaries.
(d)&(e): Management of urban flooding falls under purview of the respective State Governments and Urban Local Body / Urban Development Authority. For their guidance, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 by integrating the guidelines on mitigation, prevention and preparedness for urban flooding issued by the National Disaster Management Authority. These guidelines lay down the principles to be followed for land use in the flood plains by taking into account the frequency of flooding based on the rainfall data.
Further, the Ministry has issued Standard Operating Procedure for Urban Flooding in 2017. These lay down, in a comprehensive manner, the specific actions to be undertaken by various departments and agencies for responding to urban flooding.
Ministry has also published a Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems, 2019 to provide guidance on sustainable design, planning & management of storm water drainage systems and emergency plan for flood response.
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