Need for a Relook ?

Economic Times ( 09 March 2017 ) carries following news report :

“ Centre to Pay Rent for Poor in 100 Cities “

The government would launch the new rental housing policy with the rental vouchers for below poverty line ( BPL ) families

Aimed directly at the URBAN POOR and helping the MIGRANT POPULATION, the scheme would involve :

·         Distribution of Rent Vouchers by URBAN LOCAL BODIES

·         The TENANT would give these vouchers to the LANDOWNER

·         In turn, the LANDOWNER would be able to redeem them at any CITIZEN SERVICE BUREAU

·         If the rent is higher than the value of the rent voucher, the tenant would pay the difference in CASH to the landowner

·         The VALUE of the rent voucher would be determined by the URBAN LOCAL BODY ( Municipal Corporation ? ), on the basis of CLASS or SIZE of the dwelling unit and the PREVALENT RENT in the city

A senior official of “ HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION MINISTRY “ told ET :

“ The Rental Voucher Scheme is being looked at as a means to complement the Prime Minister’s Housing for All Scheme “

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Following are the reasons why the proposed scheme needs a relook :

NUMBER OF AGENCIES INVOLVED in IMPLEMENTATION :

·         The Ministry concerned

·         Urban Local Bodies ( Municipal Corporations of 100 Smart Cities )

·         Citizen Service Bureaus ( - also 100 ? )

·         Landowners ( Lakhs ? )

·         Voucher Recipients  ( 35 % of Urban Household who live in rented homes )

    SCOPE FOR CORRUPTION :

     There will be a lot of ambiguity / discretion , ( leading to corruption ) while deciding :

·         CLASS / SIZE of dwelling units ( city area wise )

·         Prevalent Rents ( in each area of each of those 100 cities )

·         Who is “ Below Poverty Line “ ?

·         Who is a “ MIGRANT “ resident – and for how long ? Who will certify ? In a city like Mumbai , some 500 families arrive DAILY from all over India , to make Mumbai , their new home !

·         Who will “ check and certify “ that the claimant ( voucher recipient ) is actually living at the dwelling unit declared ? How much grease money will they demand ?

·         Landowners will simply be unable to “ redeem “ those Rent Vouchers without bribing the concerned persons at the CITIZEN SERVICE BUREAU !

·         Unscrupulous nexus between TENANT and LANDOWNER could give rise to BENAMI users ( those ABOVE official Poverty Line ) – as currently RAMPANT in most houses ( flats ) sold by State Housing Corporations , all over India !

And finally ,

·         WHO will determine ( - and HOW ? ) , that XYZ tenant , who was POOR last year , has come up ABOVE the Poverty Line , this year – and become ineligible ?

Will this ( scheme ) not “ incentivize “ a person to want to continue to remain below Poverty Line , for as long as he can ?

·         Why should the scheme ignore RURAL POOR ?

Dear Shri Venkiah Naidu-ji :

I urge you to take a close  RELOOK  at this scheme , before announcing !

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09  March  2017

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