New Delhi: The cabinet gave its nod today to two policies aimed at providing employment and housing to the urban poor.
Under the National Urban Livelihood Mission, the government has set aside Rs 6,505 crore to spend on generating employment for the urban poor till 2017. Also, Rs 35,810 crore would be used under the Rajiv Awas Yojana to make housing available to the urban poor by the year 2022.
The policies have been doing rounds for necessary approvals since 2012 when Kumari Selja was in charge of the housing and poverty alleviation ministry, which is piloting the schemes.
Ajay Maken later took in October 2012. The ministry again changed hands in June this year with Girija Vyas at the helm this time.
The emphasis of the National Urban Livelihood Mission is on "gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities" instead of jobs for unskilled labourers.
"At a later stage, we are also looking forward to providing job assurance on lines of MNREGA (the 100 days’ rural job scheme) for a fixed number of days in a year," a senior ministry official said.
The Rajiv Awas Yojana promises property rights to slum dwellers who have been living in the same slum for a specified period of time. This period would be decided by the state governments. The slum will be replaced by pucca houses.