Parliament Question: Challenges faced by Urban Poor

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1853 TO BE ANSWERED ON JULY 31, 2025 CHALLENGES FACED BY URBAN POOR NO. 1853. SHRI CHHOTELAL: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that a large section of the urban population, particularly the economically weaker sections and migrants continue to face challenges related to lack of affordable housing, poor urban infrastructure and inadequate access to basic amenities such as water, sanitation, waste management and public transport; (b) if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken under schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities Mission and various urban transport initiatives to address these challenges, promote affordable housing, improve urban infrastructure, strengthen public transport systems and facilitate slum redevelopment in urban areas; and (c) if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (c): As per the provisions of Article 243 W of the Constitution, in conjunction with the Seventh and Twelfth Schedules, matters relating to urban development fall within the purview of States/ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). However, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) provides programmatic support to the States/ Union Territories (UTs) in their urban development agenda through its various flagship Missions/ Programmes viz.Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0), PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Urban Transport (UT), etc. …2/--2- Through these Missions/Schemes, the Central Government approves the State Plans and provides the Central Assistance (CA) to the States. The projects are selected, designed, approved and executed by the States/UTs and the cities. The State Governments release funds to the cities/districts. PMAY-U: ‘Land’ and ‘Colonisation’ are State subjects. Schemes related to housing and slum rehabilitation are implemented by State/Union Territory (UT) Governments in their respective regions. However, Government of India supplements the efforts of States/UTs by providing Central Assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY- U) to provide pucca house with basic amenities to eligible urban beneficiaries across the country including slum dwellers. Eligible beneficiaries can avail benefit of PMAY-U through available four verticals i.e., Beneficiary Led Construction or Enhancement (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) and Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). However, slum dweller could take benefit under any vertical. The scheme is demand driven and selection of beneficiaries under various verticals preferred by beneficiaries, formulation of projects and execution are done by States/UTs. Based on the project proposal submitted by States/UTs, more than 1.12 crore houses have been sanctioned under PMAY-U by the Ministry, out of which 93.61 lakh are completed/delivered to the beneficiaries across the country, as on 14.07.2025. Detailed information on the overall physical and financial achievements under PMAY-U, along with specific details for slum dweller beneficiaries, is provided below: Sr. Overall, in Slum dweller Particulars No. PMAY (U) beneficiaries 1 Houses Sanctioned 112.16 Lakh 29.37 Lakh Houses Grounded for 2 112.74 Lakh 28.36 Lakh Construction* Constructions of Houses 3 93.61 Lakh 19.94 Lakh Completed* Central Assistance Sanctioned 4 1.90 Lakh Cr. 44,066 cr. (₹ in Cr.) Central Assistance Released (₹ 5 1.70 Lakh Cr. 35,758 cr. in Cr.) *Includes 4 lakh houses for grounding and of 3.42 lakh for completion taken up during PMAY-U Mission period. …3/--3- AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched on 25 June 2015 in selected 500 cities (485 cities including 15 merged cities) and towns across the country. The Mission focuses on development of basic infrastructure, in the selected cities and towns, in the sectors of water supply; sewerage and septage management; storm water drainage; green spaces and parks; and non- motorized urban transport. As reported by the State/UTs on AMRUT Portal, against the approved plan size of ₹77,640 crore, 6,010 projects worth ₹83,483 crore have been taken up in the above sectors. Under AMRUT Mission in convergence with the States, 189 lakh water tap connections (new/ serviced) have been provided against the target of 139 lakh; 149 lakh sewer connections (new/ serviced) (including households covered through Faecal Sludge and Septage Management- FSSM) provided against the target of 145 lakh; Sewer network of 21,753 km and water supply network of 73,519 km have been constructed; 4,622 Million Litre Per Day (MLD) Sewerage Treatment Plant Capacity (STP) and 4,933 MLD Water Treatment Plant Capacity (WTP) have been developed; 1,456 km length of drains have been constructed. 5,092 acres of Green space, 430 km pedestrian/ walkway and 43 km of cycle track have been developed. AMRUT 2.0 has been launched on 01 October 2021 with a Central Assistance (CA) of ₹ 66,750 crore for projects. AMRUT 2.0 focuses on making the cities ‘self-reliant’ & ‘water secure’. Providing universal coverage of sewerage & septage management in 500 AMRUT cities is other major focus of AMRUT 2.0. Under AMRUT 2.0, a total of 8,873 projects worth ₹1,94,172.99 crore have been approved by MoHUA. Approved projects cover 407 lakh new/service tap connections, 159 lakh new/service sewer connections, 11,271 MLD water treatment plant capacity and 6,964 MLD sewage treatment plant capacity. SBM-U: In order to fulfill the sanitation and Municipal Solid Waste Management requirements of the Urban Population, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) was launched on 2nd October, 2014 which lasted upto 30.09.2021. The phase 2 of the Mission (SBM-U 2.0) was launched on 1st October, 2021 for the next five-year period i.e. upto 01.10.2026. Under SBM-U 2.0, it is proposed to create Garbage Free Cities (GFC) through 100% waste processing and treatment of used water in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the country by 2026. …4/--4- Under both phases of the mission the demand of toilets in the urban area of the country have been met with the construction of Community Toilets (CTs) in slum areas where sufficient space is not available for construction of individual household Latrines (IHHLs). For floating population in the cities, public toilets have been constructed. Similarly, the issue of urban municipal waste has been addressed under Solid Waste Management (SWM) component of the mission. In SBM-U 2.0, a new component, Used Water Management (UWM), have been added to address the waste water in ULBs with population less than 1 lakh. So far 63.78 lakh Individual Household Latrine (IHHL) units were constructed against target of 58.99 lakh as well as 6.36 lakh community and public toilets have been constructed against the target of 5.07 lakh. As reported by States/UTs, the scientific processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the country has increased from 16% in 2014 to 79.95% i.e. Out of 1,61,163 ton per day (TPD) waste generated, a total of 1,28,842 TPD of waste is being processed. SCM: Smart Cities Mission (SCM) followed an area based development approach through retrofitting, redevelopment and green-field development in 100 cities. None of the projects under SCM are beneficiary-led and not explicitly oriented to economically weaker section. Cities under SCM are being developed based on Smart City Proposals (SCPs), across various sectors viz. smart mobility, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH), smart governance, social infrastructure, smart energy, environment etc., approved by High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC), received from States/UTs. As on 11.07.2025, out of a total 8,063 projects amounting to ₹ 1,64,695 crore undertaken in the 100 cities selected under SCM, 7,636 projects (95% of total projects) amounting to ₹1,53,977 crore have been completed. Urban Transport: ‘Urban planning’ is a State subject. Therefore, the respective State Governments are responsible for planning, initiating and developing proposal for development of urban infrastructure including metro project. As per Metro Rail Policy, 2017, the Central Government considers financial assistance for Metro Rail proposals in cities or urban agglomerates based on the feasibility of the proposal and availability of resources, as and when posed by the concerned State Government. Government of India has issued Metro Rail Policy, 2017 for systematic planning of public transport projects including Metro Rails in order to achieve sustainable mobility. At present, about …5/--5- 1,036 km of metro rail network including Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) is operational in 24 cities across the country. Since September 2024 to till date, Metro Rail Projects worth Rs 1.04 Lakh Crore, covering a total of 240 km, have been sanctioned by Government of India. Also, PM-eBus Sewa Scheme has been approved by Government of India in August, 2023 which aims to augment city bus operations in urban areas with Central Assistance (CA) of Rs. 20,000 crore for deploying 10,000 electric buses under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. *****