The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a housing scheme that is initiated by the Central Government of India. It was launched in the year 2015 to ensure that every citizen of the country can avail a family home. PMAY has been widely implemented across different regions and the benefits are widely extended. The main aim of the scheme is to help people from the economically weaker and lower sections of society get affordable housing opportunities.
The Central government continues to promote this scheme in different cities and states. However, several local authorities are taking individual initiatives to ensure deeper penetration of the scheme. The Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to widen the scope of development by using the grazing area within the city. The standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation has already offered an affirmative signal to build housing units on the Gairan land.
As part of the development, homes will be built on grazing land across areas such as Baner, Kondhwa and Balewadi.
The civic body has already undertaken the construction of nearly 2,900 flats in other parts of the country. These units are primarily built to accommodate individuals from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). The type of project is initiated under ‘Affordable Housing in Partnership’. As part of this setting, the buyers have to pay a part of the cost to buy the property. It is currently about 10% of the total housing cost.
Developing Grazing Land – A brief History
The civic body of Pune has been contemplating the use of about 35 hectares of unused grazing land under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana since 2018. This real estate development was being majorly planned within city limits.
A major part of the grazing land that was slated to be used for real estate development is situated on the fringe limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). These regions also include the 11 villages that were merged to be included under city limits in 2017. As per an official from the collector’s office, the core of the grazing land is not covered under the city area. Most of the land is situated on the fringes of the municipal limits. He further stated that the area is majorly included under the Haveli tehsil jurisdiction of the district collectorate.
In 2018, the allocation of municipal land to build housing units had been approved by the standing committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation. These included 6,264 homes that were to be built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Use of Grazing Land – Not a Welcome Initiative
The use of grazing land for developing residential spaces has not gone down well with some authorities. As per an anonymous official of the Pune Municipal Corporation, the Gairan or grazing area belongs to the public and is specially reserved for grazing animals. The grazing lands have growingly lost their relevance because of the constant urbanizations. There is also a decline in the dairy business.
Several civic activists have raised their opinion to claim how the authorities should be more mindful about bringing about development. They have stated how the PMC must undertake long-term planning before implementing such projects. Vivek Velankar, part of the Sajag Nagrik Manch, stated that the city is already facing several infrastructural issues in recent times. Authorities have not been able to resolve the water crisis within the city. Developing more homes within the city will only lead to the infrastructure crumbling further.
In defence of the stated issues, the officials of the PMC claimed that the authorities have come up with different water supply projects to fulfil the shortage across the city. Water from these projects can be used to fulfil the supply need for new housing projects.
The PMAY scheme has been widely implemented across states and cities of the country.
While there may be certain issues raised due to the processing, it has ensured that people from all sections of society avail affordable housing. Visit Finserv MARKETS to know more about the PMAY list and the way through which it can be beneficial to you.