Cabinet clears rental scheme for migrants
RELIEF Fund of ₹1 lakh crore to extend subsidised credit for farm infrastructure; ₹600-crore package for housing plan
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved an agriculture infrastructure fund worth ~1 lakh crore, by far the NDA government’s largest federally funded programme in the farm sector, and green-lighted an affordable rental housing scheme for migrant workers, millions of whom left cities and returned home to the hinterland in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease pandemic and the lockdown imposed to stop its spread.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced both plans in May as part of the ~20 lakh crore economic stimulus and relief package announced by PM Narendra Modi to fight the
WILL HELP MILLIONS OF THOSE WHO RETURNED HOME DURING THE COVID-INDUCED LOCKDOWN
slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The development of affordable rental housing complexes for urban migrant poor was approved as a “sub-scheme” under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -- Urban (PMAY–U). Existing vacant government funded housing complexes will be used for the scheme.
NEWDELHI:The cabinet on Wednesday approved an agriculture infrastructure fund worth ₹1 lakh crore, by far, the National Democratic Alliance government’s largest federally funded programme in the farm sector, and green-lighted an affordable rental housing scheme for migrant workers, millions of whom left cities and returned home to the hinterland in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease pandemic and the lockdown imposed to stop its spread.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced both plans in May as part of the ₹20 lakh crore economic stimulus and relief package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight the slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.
The fund, in the form of special loans with discounted interest rates, is meant for farm entrepreneurs, aggregators of farm produce and for building infrastructure such as refrigerated storage, markets and farm supply chains. The scheme running the fund shall begin in the fiscal 2020-21 and end in 2029.
While announcing the fund, the finance minister said the loans would benefit private agricultural entrepreneurs and startups that aimed to buy the produce of farmers and aim to reach global markets, but which did not have the infrastructure. “This fund will immediately address the issue. It will be created at the earliest,” she said on May 15.
The total credit will be disbursed over four years, starting with an initial sanction of ₹10,000 crore in the current financial year and ₹30,000 crore each in the next three fiscal years.
The ₹1 lakh crore fund, aimed at boosting farm infrastructure and logistics, will offer medium to long term debt facility for investment in harvest management projects and community farming assets. It will work on a model of discounts on interest along with financial support, a Cabinet note said.
All loans under the fund will have interest discount of 3% per year up to a limit of ₹2 crore. This benefit of this discount will be available for a maximum period of seven years.
Also, credit guarantee coverage — where loans are underwritten — will be available for eligible borrowers under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises scheme for loans up to ₹2 crore.
The infusion of ₹1 lakh crore in the rural-agri infrastructure space will generate rural employment and reduce farm wastage, according to Arindam Guha, partner and leader, government and public sector, Deloitte India.
The cabinet also approved the development of affordable rental housing complexes for urban migrant poor as a “sub-scheme” under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — Urban (PMAY–U) .
Existing vacant government funded housing complexes will be used for the scheme through concession agreements for 25 years.
The housing scheme for urban poor entails a funding of ₹600 crore, which will be released for projects with innovative technologies for construction. The government hopes the scheme will benefit nearly 300,000 migrant poor.
According to internal ministry data accessed by HT, 1.2 million government houses are available; they were built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), PMAY and housing schemes of state governments. Of these, Maharastra has the maximum number of dwelling units available ( 35,000) and Delhi has 30,000 houses, officials aware of the development said on condition of anonymity.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in massive reverse migration of workers/ urban poor in the country who come from rural areas or small towns for seeking better employment opportunities in urban areas. Usually, these migrants live in slums, informal/ unauthorized colonies or peri-urban areas to save rental charges. They spend a lot of time on roads by walking/ cycling to workplaces, risking their lives to cut on the expenses,” the ministry of housing and urban affairs said in a statement.