The Union government is set to significantly increase the grant for private developers and government agencies to develop rental housing facilities under the revamped Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0), approved by the cabinet on 9 August, despite a muted response to the existing scheme, ThePrint has learnt.
according to senior ministry officials, the revamped scheme will offer Rs 1.5 lakh per unit for the construction of a rental housing complex with one-bedroom flats, measuring 30 square metres. This is an increase from the Rs 60,000 now offered under the Affordable Rental Housing Complex scheme (ARHC), a sub-scheme under the current PMAY-U.
The ARHC scheme was launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had led to a large-scale exodus of migrant workers from cities. It was aimed at providing rental housing to the urban poor. However, since the scheme was launched, very few rental housing facilities have been developed across the country due to a lack of interest from private developers.