Lok Sabha Question No. 4379 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-27
Subject: Government Funded Vacant Houses under ARHC
Ministry: HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Asked by: Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan

## MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4379

TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 27, 2025

## GOVERNMENT FUNDED VACANT HOUSES UNDER ARHC

- NO. 4379.  SHRI S JAGATHRATCHAKAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  HOUSING  AND  URBAN  AFFAIRS  be  pleased  to state:

- (a)  the details of the number of the Government-funded vacant houses that  were  identified  for  the  Affordable  Rental  Housing  Complexes (ARHC)  Scheme  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Awas  Yojana-Urban  in
- Tamil Nadu;
- (b)  the number of these units converted into rental housing units;
- (c)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  expedite  the conversion of the remaining vacant Government-funded houses into ARHC units for ensuring wider implementation of the scheme, Statewise, particularly in Tamil Nadu and other southern States; and
- (d)  the details of the plans to address the challenges faced by PublicPrivate Partnerships in the construction of Greenfield ARHC units in Tamil Nadu?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU)

- (a) to  (d):  Ministry  of  Housing  and  Urban  Affairs  (MoHUA)  launched Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) as a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) to provide dignified living to urban migrants/poor near their workplace in the country including  Tamil  Nadu.  This  scheme  is  implemented  through  two models:
- i. Model-1:  Utilizing  existing  Government  funded  vacant houses  constructed  under  Jawaharlal  Nehru  National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana  (RAY)  to  convert  into  ARHCs  through  Public Private Partnership (PPP) or by Public Agencies,

- ii. Model-2: Construction, Operation & Maintenance of ARHCs by Public/Private  Entities  on  their  own  available vacant land.

The operation guidelines are available at https://arhc.mohua.gov.in/filesUpload/Operational-Guidelinesof-ARHCs.pdf.

There  are  no  government  funded  vacant  houses  available  in Tamil Nadu for conversion into ARHCs.  Moreover, Under Model-1, so  far,  5,648  existing  Government  funded  vacant  houses  have been  converted  into  ARHCs  in  other  States/Union  Territories (UTs). However, under Model-2, MoHUA has approved proposals for  82,273  new  ARHC  units  in  7  States,  of  which  35,425  have been completed in Tamil Nadu.

The  Ministry  conducts  regular  review  with  the  States/UTs  and various  Public/private  Agencies  on  progress  of  the  scheme including ARHC projects for timely completion.

Based on the learning from the experiences of 9 years implementation  of  PMAY-U,  MoHUA  has  revamped  the  scheme and  launched  PMAY-U  2.0  'Housing  for  All'  Mission  with  effect from  01.09.2024  for  implementation  in  urban  areas  across  the country  to  construct,  purchase  and  rent  a  house  by  1  crore additional  eligible  beneficiaries  at  affordable  cost  through  four verticals  i.e.,  Beneficiary  Led  Construction  (BLC),  Affordable Housing  in  Partnership  (AHP),  Affordable  Rental  Housing  (ARH) and Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS). ARH vertical of PMAY-U 2.0 aims  to  construct  rental  housing  projects  for  Economically Weaker  Section  (EWS)/Low  Income  Group  (LIG)  beneficiaries including  migrant  workers  and  other  poor  who  do  not  want  to own  a  house  but  require  housing  for  short  term  basis.  Various incentives have been provisioned under PMAY-U 2.0 to promote Public/Private sector for construction of Greenfield ARH projects. The  scheme  guidelines  of  PMAY-U  2.0  may  be  accessed  at https://pmay-urban.gov.in/uploads/guidelines/OperationalGuidelines-of-PMAY-U-2.pdf.

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