Rajiv Awas Yojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the launch of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS),

to be implemented in Mission mode during 2013-2022. This was stated by Dr. (Ms.) Girija Vyas, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA), in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. For effective i mplementation of the scheme, the emphasise is given on the following:

(i) Community should be involved at every stage, from planning through implementation and post-project maintenance leading to community ownership and sustainability of the scheme.

(ii) For effective monitoring central assistance is available for components such as establishment of technical cells at both State and City levels, cost of preparation of Slum Free City Plansof Action(SFCPoA) including preparatory activities, preparation of DPRs, Third Party Inspection and Monitoring (TPIM) and Social Audit.

(iii) Monitoring of quality of projects executed by the implementing agencies by Third Party Inspection and Monitoring Agency (TPIMA) at both Central and State level.

The Minister further stated that this Ministry has also issued guidelines for Community Participation, Guidelines for Social Audit and DPR preparation for effective implementation of the scheme. The scheme is applicable to all cities/UAs of the country. The selection for seeking assistance under the scheme is to be made by the States in consultation with the Centre. The cities/UAs covered under preparatory phase of RAY are automatically included under implementation phase of RAY.

The Minister further stated that Central financial assistance available under RAY is 50% for cities with population more than 5 lakh, 75% for cities with population less than 5 lakhs (census 2011) and 80% for cities in North Eastern and Special Category States irrespective of their population with upper ceiling of per Dwelling Unit cost including infrastructure at Rs. 5 lakh, Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh respectively for above category of cities, the Minister added.