SUBMITTED BYFARAH NAAZ

PARUL SHARMASHAMA GUPTA

•Our nation crossed fifty years of independence and this called for a whole new set of development measures•Fresh need felt for increasing the social and economic developmental measures. •The government felt that the full economic potentiality of the country, yet to be explored, should be utilized for an overall growth in the next five years. •Ninth five year plan india looks through the past weaknesses in order to frame the new measures for the overall socio-economic development of the country.

•The emphasis was on• Human development,• Increase in the growth rate and • Adoption of a full scale employment

scheme for all.• For such development one needs to

• Promote the social sectors of the nation and • To give utmost importance to the

eradication of poverty.• Participation of the governmental agencies

along with the general population of that nation.

• Combined effort of public, private, and all levels of government is essential for ensuring the growth of india's economy.

•To prioritize agricultural sector and emphasize on the rural development •To generate adequate employment opportunities and promote poverty reduction •To stabilize the prices in order to accelerate the growth rate of the economy •To ensure food and nutritional security

•To provide for the basic infrastructural facilities like education for all, safe drinking water, primary health care, transport, energy

•To check the growing population increase •To encourage social issues like women empowerment, conservation of certain benefits for the special groups of the society •To create a liberal market for increase in private investments `

•The level of urbanisation • 11 to 12 per cent during the first three decades • Increasing noticeably in the decade of

independence • 17.3 per cent in 1951 • 25.7 per cent in 1991.

• The planning commission's technical group on urban perspectives and policies has projected the urban population at 31.0 per cent of the total population in 1996-97 and 38.0 per cent in 2006-07.• One of the largest urban systems with 217.6 million people in 1991, which is projected to increase to 289 million in 2001 and around 605-618 million during 2021-2025. •There will be about 40 metro cities in the country in 2001 as against 23 in 1991.

•Ninth Plan strategies will be directed at• The slow-down in urbanisation during 1981-

91 • growing concentration of urban population in

larger towns•mega and metro cities - land is a major constraint for undertaking development work. •A large part of civic amenities, particularly water supply, sanitation and sewerage, are managed with assets that have outlived their operational efficiency.•upgradation and renovation, is constrained by high population density and concentrated commercial activities at the locations where these service assets are installed•The lack of comprehensive urban planning in the past to promote regular upgradation and renewal has resulted in a large backlog of development activities.

•The key urban concern is the growing gap between demand and supply of basic services.•While there has been a steady growth in the housing stock, infrastructure and services, the gaps between demand and supply have been rising, even in terms of conservative norms.•These gaps are unlikely to be bridged over the next 5 to 10 years.•Many goals of housing, potable water and sanitation that were to be attained by 2001 ad, may require the target point fixed 10-15 years ago to be extended

•India, nevertheless, continues to live in her villages.•As many as 629 million people live in some 580,706 villages, which works out to an average of 1,083 per village.• Rural population density is low at an average of 214 persons per sq.km, which brings out the•rural development challenges in terms of provision of human settlements-related services of potable water, sanitation, and access to livelihood programmes.•Increased per capita cost of the services, Operation and Maintenance( O & M) logistics and recovery of investment are priority concerns.

•The rural hinterland has played a critical role in sustaining urbanisation.

• indicators of sources of primary inputs, competitively priced labour for urban economic activities,

• primary funds as reflected in comparative urban and rural credit-deposit ratios and market for urban products.

•Migration of the rural poor to urban areas may have a destabilising effect on urbanisation and its sustainability.•Income and employment opportunities will have to rise in the rural areas, through both the farm and non-farm sectors •Habitats and basic services have to be improved so that with rural development and congenial habitats, rural areas emerge as sustainable centres of economic activities and human settlements.

•The rural-urban continuum would be strengthened so that gaps between rural and urban lifestyles are reduced.•Effective urban strategies and programmes cannot be developed in isolation of those in the rural areas.•The ninth plan will take cognisance of this ground reality, particularly in respect of three critical components of human settlements development, namely, drinking water, sanitation and housing.

•Development of urban areas as economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable entities;•Accelerated development of housing, particularly for the low income groups and other disadvantaged groups; •Development and upgradation of urban infrastructure services to meet the needs of a growing population; •Alleviation of urban poverty and unemployment;•Promoting accessibility and affordability of the poor to housing and basic services; •Promoting efficient and affordable mass urban transportation systems in metropolitan cities;•Improvement of urban environment;•Promoting private sector participation in the provision of public infrastructure and of the community and NGOs in urban planning and management of specific components of urban services; and •Democratic decentralisation and strengthening of municipal governance.

•The ninth plan will focus special attention on households at the lower end of the housing market, the priority groups identified for such support, such as eg. People below poverty line , SC/ST, disabled, freed bonded laborers, slum dwellers and women headed households. •Government will, as a facilitator , create an environment in which access to all the requisite inputs will be in time, in adequate quantum and an appropriate quality and standards. •There will be provision for more direct intervention by the government in the case of lower segments of the housing market and selected disadvantaged groups. •A package of incentives and concessions to attract private sectors would be introduced to shoulder the task of housing for the poor.

•The ninth plan will focus special attention on households at the lower end of the housing market.•Minimum housing adequacy norms will be evolved that would include per capita living space, structural durability, access to drinking water with minimum quantitative and qualitative norms, sanitation facilities and connectivity. •Responsibility -the states •State governments will further decentralize the responsibility to urban local bodies (ulbs) and panchayati raj institutions (pris),•Provision for a participatory process to determine the norms.• The norms would be the base for working out state and district housing action plans for both the urban and rural areas.

•Housing has been always a people's activity and will continue to be so in the ninth plan, both in the urban and the rural areas. •Government-facilitator, create the environment in which access to all the requisite inputs will be in time, in adequate quantum and of appropriate quality and standards.• All housing delivery systems, such as the cooperatives, private sector, community groups, and people's self efforts, will be stimulated to make their contributions to new housing stock as well as up gradation and renewal of the existing stock.• In the case of the cooperatives, the Endeavour will be to encourage the formation of cooperatives from the planning stage of the housing program and maintaining a high continuity rate of the original members.

•Provision for more direct intervention by the government in the case of the lower segments of the housing market and selected disadvantaged groups•The market-driven forces will be a prime mover of housing development activities, particularly in the urban areas.• However, a package of incentives and concessions to attract private sectors would be introduced to shoulder the task of housing for the poor.•Cooperative sector and other public housing agencies could also be encouraged to share the responsibility.•Subsidy would continue to be provided for some more time and the flow mechanism will be made transparent and increasingly routed outside the financial system.

•Government has set the goal to provide housing for all and towards this end it proposes to facilitate the construction of 20 lakh additional housing units annually.•The focus will be on providing houses to the houseless, inadequately housed and disadvantaged groups below poverty line.•Since ratio of housing shortage between rural and urban areas is 65:35 as per the NBO statistics derived from the 1991 census, out of 20 lakh additional houses 13 lakh will be in the rural areas and 7 lakh will be in the urban areas

•Land market reforms will be undertaken through restructuring legal, planning and fiscal provisions.• A work agenda to implement them will be taken up.•Land scarcity is one of the key elements to development of housing and infrastructure services.•The cabinet has since taken a decision to repeal ULCRA.•The plan will take specific initiatives to promote and adopt in human settlements programs energy-saving, eco-friendly and environment-friendly technologies and building materials.

•Ninth Plan agenda will take up the massive task of up gradation and renewal of old and dilapidated housing stock.•In the urban ,this is a major challenge in the inner city areas and in the growing slum and squatter settlements, which have become an ingenious solution to get shelter perfected by the people who cannot enter the formal housing market on their own.•Within this category, the Plan will look into the needs of the households below the poverty line.•Urban renewal in this direction is crucial to the health and sustainability of the urban environment.

•To build sustainability into the housing of the urban poor as well as in rural housing, integrated development of settlement should be promoted, on the principle of strengthening the linkages and inter-dependency between shelter and income up gradation.•India has made a commitment to this approach in the NHP and the Habitat II National Plan of Action (NPA).•To promote this strategy, the Ninth Plan will support the use of composite credit instrument, modify land-use patterns and city master plans and strengthen the linkages between the farm and the non-farm sector in the rural and semi-urban areas.•The NGOs and other voluntary organizations would have to play the role of a catalyst

•The options and need to upgrade the structure, especially the roof and the wall, has been recognized in the NHP and in rural housing programs. •This would reduce the annual maintenance inputs, including human inputs, and provide better protection against natural calamities.•Rural housing is also qualitatively different from urban housing, in that the housing activity is not very much based on the cash economy but depends to a considerable extent on land rights and access to resources.•Rural housing has also emerged as a major component of rural development programs and, as such, is considered to be an integral part of rural development planning

•Keeping in view the varied range of geo-climatic conditions and housing typologies in rural areas, the tasks are stupendous in developing and managing rural housing programs.• One set of materials, plans or construction techniques cannot be applicable across the country, and hence rural housing requires grass-root level feedback on housing needs, together with basic amenities like approach roads, internal roads, drainage, water supply, sanitation and work place. •The access to rural housing credit, outside the Government schemes like the IAY, would require special attention during the Ninth Plan, as also full access to low-cost materials and appropriate technology

•Land should be acquired in places where public land supply may be a constraint and this strategy should take into account the ecology and environmental considerations, as also the appropriateness of the location in terms of the economic activities and access to basic habitat services.•The IAY would be the main Government programme for achieving the objective of shelter for all rural poor. It would continue to be a 100 per cent subsidised programme, targetted specifically towards providing shelter for the houseless, inadequately housed and disadvantaged groups•The Ninth Plan would also give a thrust on improving the quality of houses under the IAY

•Government has set a goal to provide housing for all and towards this end it proposes to facilitate the construction of twenty lakh additional housing units annually.

•The target of additional dwelling units has been broadly bifurcated as 13 lakh units for rural areas and 7 lakh units for urban areas.

•Based on the average cost of EWSand LIG housing units of Rs. 35000 and Rs. 1 lakh respectively the investment requirement for 7 lakh new units would be of the order of around Rs. 4000 crores.

•The extend of funding from institutional finance is proposed to be 70 per cent and the balance 30 per cent is proposed to be met partly as subsidy from Central/State Governments and partly as beneficiary contribution in cash, kind and labour.

•Investment expected from the institutional financing bodies would be of the order of Rs. 2800 crores.

•A package of incentives and concessions is needed to attract the private sector.

•The physical targets under SAP are 7 lakh additional dwelling units annually starting from second year of the Ninth Plan (1997-2002).•Assuming that physical output of formal sector institutions in the implementation of SAP would be commensurate with the investment requirement of 70%, the target for formal sector financial institutions would be 4.9 lakh dwelling units annually and the balance 2.1 lakh units would be provided by the beneficiary contribution ,subsidy.•Out of formal sector institutions HUDCO is expected to build one third of the total target namely 2.33 lakh dwelling units annually.

•However since there is likely delay in the implementation of the SAP and HUDCO is currently engaged with the task of providing roughly one lakh dwelling units annually through ongoing schemes the additional target for HUDCO has been kept at a reduced level of 1.5 lakh dwelling units for 1998- 99 instead of 2.33 lakh originally proposed. •The shortfall in the current year (0.83 lakh dwelling units) may be undertaken by other Formal Sector Institutions. During the remaining years of IXth Plan (i.e. 1999-2002), HUDCO could take up one third of the shortfall in 1998-99 (i.e. 0.83 lakh dwelling units) over and above the original target of 2.33 lakh dwelling units.

•As an incentive for taking up the additional targets in the formal sector through the various activities/programmes a corpus of approximately Rs. 100 crores could be set up which could be utilised for leveraging additional resources for meeting the requirement of funds for housing of the deprived sections of the society•Housing is a State subject. Given the wide variation in the housing needs in the States and constraint of resources to meet the housing needs, State Govts. and UTs would have to play a critical role in formulating plans and programmes suited to local needs and conditions in consultation with the local bodies.

•State Governments would need to identify the specific agencies for implementation of the Action Plan. Developmment of housing infrastructure and services has not kept in tune with the growth of housing. •The problem of upgradation and renewal of basic services like potable drinking water and sanitation is serious. •An integrated programme for land assembly and infrastructure development particularly water supply, sanitation, drainage and electric supply would require to be taken up on a priority basis.

•Action of the State Government would need to take into account the resource flow from the private, cooperative and public sectors.•The role of the Central Government would be to guide and facilitate the implementation of Action Plan.•The synergy created with the efficiency of private sector and experience of the public agencies would ensure that the overall costs is kept at minimum.

•At present it is estimated that approx 12.3 lakh houses are being constructed annually in rural areas under various housing schemes.•Based on this estimation it was projected that approx 61.50 lakh houses (i.e. 12.30 lakh x 5 years) will be added to the overall housing stock between 1997-2002 AD at the 1997-98 level of funding.•In addition, from the Additional Central Assistance (ACA) for BMS which includes rural housing as one of the seven components, it is estimated that at least 1.70 lakh additional housing units would be constructed annually from 1998-99 to 2001-02.•Therefore, a total of 68.30 lakh units of rural houses were to be constructed as per earlier projections.

•Under the Special Action Plan for Rural Housing, an additional 13 lakh new houses are required to be constructed annually in the rural areas in addition to the existing 12.3 lakh units per year.

•Therefore, the total houses to be constructed annually would increase commensurately to 25.30 lakh.

•The task for preparing the Action Plan on Rural Housing has been taken up in the second year of the Ninth Five Year Plan i.e. 1998-99. •The composite housing strategy for the Ninth Five Year Plan is multi-pronged and includes proposed modifications in the existing housing schemes and certain new initiatives.

• Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)- Main Programme

• Credit-cum-Subsidy Scheme (CCS)

• Cooperative Housing:

• Innovative Stream for Rural Housing and Habitat Development (ISRHHD)

• National Housing Bank(NHB)

• Basic Minimum Services(BMS) Programmes

Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) – for construction of new houses free of cost for the target group below the poverty line comprising SCs/STs, freed bonded labourers and also non-SCs/STs families to continue. In addition, a new component for upgradation of kutcha and unserviceable houses is being introduced. Credit –cum-subsidy scheme to cover people upto twice the income level of the Below Poverty Line families. Assistance in the form of subsidy and loan on a 50:50 basis within Indira Awas Yojana(IAY) cost norms. Cooperative Housing: The cooperative housing movement has also contributed to the housing sector by constructing 7.00 lakh units in the rural areas. It is expected to improve its performance in the ensuing years of the Ninth Five Year Plan period.

•Innovative Stream for Rural Housing and Habitat Development (ISRHHD) – to encourage the use of cost effective, environment friendly, scientifically tested and appropriate indigenous and modern designs, technologies and materials.•National Housing Bank(NHB) – to finance 1 lakh housing units under the Swarna Jayanti Housing Finance Scheme. •Greater equity participation to HUDCO for construction of additional houses in rural areas. •Rural Building Centers to facilitate technology transfer, information dissemination, skill up gradation and production of cost effective and environment -friendly materials.•Basic Minimum Services(BMS) Programs – Housing is one of the seven components identified under the BMS to provide housing to the shelter less poor in a time bound manner

•In the first year of the Ninth Plan i.e. 1997-98 the Central outlay for rural housing (i.e. IAY) was Rs.1190.00 crore. •With this financial provision approximately 7.00 lakh IAY houses were constructed during that year. •Approx. 5.30 lakh units have been constructed outside the IAY by various housing agencies and by the State Governments.• Therefore the total houses constructed in 1997-98 were approx 12.30 lakh.•In the financial year 1998-99, a Central outlay of Rs.1600.00 crore has been provided in the Budget for Rural Housing.

•Based on this central provision it is estimated that 13.28 lakh houses can be constructed under the IAY and other housing schemes.

•In addition 7.50 lakh houses would be constructed under other rural housing schemes implemented by the state governments, including rural houses constructed under BMS, thereby cumulating a total of 20.78 lakh units in the current year.

•The end of the ninth plan i.E. 2001-02, 109.53 lakh units would be constructed under various housing schemes in the rural areas.

•The IAY is implemented through District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs) specially set up in each district of the country for implementation of rural development programs or through Zilla Parishads. •At the field level the block machinery is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that targets for construction of houses under IAY are achieved.• At the village level the onus is on the gram sabha to identify and select the beneficiaries.•However, given that most State Governments also have their own rural housing programs, in order to facilitate the implementation of a composite housing plan in the States, it is proposed that the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Indira Awas Yojana be transferred to the State sector.

•The Credit-cum-Subsidy Scheme and the Innovative Stream for Rural Housing and Habitat Development would also be implemented by the DRDAs/Zilla Parishads.

•The former scheme would be implemented in collaboration with financial institutions/commercial banks, housing boards with the refinance facility being provided by HUDCO and the NHB.

•The Innovative Stream for Rural Housing and Habitat Development would be implemented on a project basis through HUDCO/NGOs.

•The scheme of Rural Building Centres would be implemented by HUDCO/well known State rural housing organisations and NGOs through the DRDAs.•Among the other housing schemes being implemented in the rural areas, the Golden Jubilee Housing Finance Scheme, which has a rural component, is being implemented by the NHB. •The NGOs engaged in construction of rural houses are financed through CAPART.

•The Department of Rural Employment & Poverty Alleviation in the Ministry of Rural Areas & Employment is responsible for release of Central share of funds, overall guidance, policy-making, monitoring and evaluation of the rural housing program at the National level.•The programme is continuously monitored by Department of Rural Employment & Poverty Alleviation, on the basis of the monthly reports received from the States/UTs.•Senior Officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above in the Ministry are appointed as Area Officers for different States/UTs. •These Area Officers visit the allotted States/UTs from time to time and inspect among other programmes the actual implementation of the rural housing programme in the field

•They also paprticipate in the State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) meetings providing thereby, an effective link between the policy makers (Government of India) and the implementing agencies (State/UT Governments). •The programmes are also reviewed at the meetings with the State Secretaries of Rural Development and with the Project Directors of DRDAs in the Workshops which are held annually.•The State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) monitors the programme at the State Government level.•In addition to the regular monitoring of the programmes by the Ministry, the Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO) of the Planning Commission also periodically evaluates programmes in the rural development sector.

•The PEO has carried out a quick study of IAY in 1992-93. A system of Concurrent Evaluation has been evolved by the Ministry of Rural Areas & Employment under which reputed independent institutions/research organizations are involved in undertaking the evaluation work.

•A Concurrent Evaluation of the IAY is being undertaken on the initiative of Department of Rural Employment & Poverty Alleviation.