The central government has come out with a rental housing welfare scheme where Rs. 2,700 crores worth rent vouchers are to be given to the the urban poor in 100 smart cities.The urban people can have a sigh of relief as Narendra Modi’s government is all set to pay your rent.
The government is launching the new rental housing policy in which rent vouchers would be given to families that are below poverty line. This policy has been in the process for execution for past three years, but its first glimpse will be seen in the financial year 2017-18 in the smart cities.
The scheme is expected to cost around Rs. 2,713 crores per year. The main motive of the scheme is to provide support to the urban poor and the migrants.
The rent vouchers will be given to the local urban bodies to be distributed among the urban poor. The tenants have to give these vouchers to the landowners who will be able to redeem them at any citizen service bureau. And if the rent is more than the value of the voucher, the tenant will have to pay the difference in cash.
The value of the rent vouchers for urban poor may depend on the size of the domicile units and the current rates of rent. The government also has in mind, the concept of direct benefit transfer to be included in this scheme.
The rental housing welfare scheme voucher is likely to complement and support the “Housing for All” scheme by the prime minister. A recent provision in the Benami Properties Act states that the confiscated Benami properties will be monetized by the government, so that they can be let out as rental housing for LIG, MIG and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
A Cabinet would be prepared for the implementation of the rental voucher scheme.
