Rajiv Awas Yojana to get a Facelift

Indian states are expressing reluctance to comply with the mandatory provisions for availing central funds under the scheme. This is due to the scheme mandatory provisions such as according property rights to slum dwellers and earmarking 25% of the municipal budget for spending in colonies and slums where the urban poor live. This reluctance has now forced the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation ministry, which is implementing RAY, to reconsider the policy provisions so as to make it more acceptable to the states.

Mumbai Rag Pickers - Warriors for Creating a Sustainable Environment

Mumbai's rag pickers are the cities warriors who are striving hard to create a sustainable environment. These women under the aegis of Parisar Bhagini Vikas Sangh are helping to train rag pickers in the city on waste segregation, recycling, environment friendly disposal and making money through selling dry waste. This has reduced the load on the municipality and the landfills of Mumbai.

Rural areas of India have left behind the urban areas in demand for solar power

Solar electricity generating system - the new addition to the dowry list of rural regions of Bihar and eastern UP - is putting such high demand to the emerging market that manufacturers are finding it very difficult to match it. This is a recent phenomenon, around two years old.

Other remote areas like the Sunderbans in West Bengal are looking towards solar too as reaching grid electricity to these areas is economically infeasible.

Bigger Homes under Low-Cost Housing Scheme

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has expressed concerns regarding creation of vertical slums under the low-cost housing schemes. Hence he has issued orders that the size of houses being built under the MMRDA's rental housing scheme, which has now partially been converted into a low-cost housing scheme, should be increased from 160 sq. ft. to 300 sq. ft.

Boost for affordable housing as landowners, Mhada joins hands in Mumbai

In Mumbai, keeping in view the shortage of affordable housing, the state government has approved a policy that enables private landowners to lease out land to the state housing agency Mhada in exchange for incentive in development rights. This could create around 1 lakh additional homes, which could be auctioned through the Mhada lottery.

Ideas for affordable housing (rural)

This is some of our ongoing work on affordable housing for rural India. The brief for the house is based on an understanding of rural patterns of living across three different regions. The presentation focuses on a few, selected insights from field studies and shows how these have helped shape our proposal. The house schemes presented here are consistent with the guidelines specified in the Indira Awaas Yojana (for BPL families).