Cabinet approves `1L cr agri-infra fund, low-rent housing for migrants
The funds will be provided for setting up of cold storages and chains, warehousing, silos, assaying, grading and packaging units, e-marketing points linked to e-trading platforms, ripening chambers
NEW DELHI: In a major decision aimed at benefiting farmers and migrants workers, the Union Cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has on Wednesday approved setting up an agriculture infrastructure fund of Rs 1 lakh crore and allowed renting out around 1.08 lakh ready-tolive houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to migrant workers, students and urban poor in over 100 cities.
As per a senior official, the agriculture infrastructure fund is aimed at facilitating private funding directly to the villages and ensuring last-mile connectivity, while the decision to allow renting out governmentfunded housing complexes to migrant workers and students have been taken to provide better accommodation construction workers, service providers in hospitality, health care workers and students.
As per the official, the Agriinfra Fund was part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced in response to the COVID-19 disaster. Terming the decision a historical, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “Financial facilities of over Rs 1 lakh crore will be provided to primary agri credit societies, farmers groups, farmer producer organisations (FPOS), agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups and agri-tech players.”
“Loans will be disbursed in four years starting with the sanction of Rs 10,000 crore in the current year and Rs 30,000 crore each in the next three financial years,” Tomar further added.
The funds will be provided for setting up of cold storages and chains, warehousing, silos, assaying, grading and packaging units, e-marketing points linked to e-trading platforms, ripening chambers besides PPP projects for crop aggregation sponsored by central/state/local bodies, the minister said. While addressing the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “Some 1.8 lakh one-room tenements are already lying vacant in 107 cities. These were built under Upa-era schemes like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) & Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY).”
“Existing vacant government-funded housing complexes will be converted into affordable rental housing complexes (ARHCS) through concession agreements for 25 years. The complexes will revert to urban local bodies after 25 years to restart the next cycle like earlier, or run on their own,” Javadekar said.
As per government officials, the rent may vary anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 per month and municipalities will decide on who gets the houses on rent.
“A large part of the workforce in manufacturing industries, service providers in hospitality, health, domestic/ commercial establishments, and construction or other sectors, labourers, students etc who come from rural areas or small towns seeking better opportunities will be the target beneficiary under ARHCS,” the Housing Ministry said in its statement.