Rajiv Awas Yojana envisages that each State would prepare a State Slum-free Plan of Action (POA). The preparation of legislation for assignment of property rights to slum dwellers would be the first step for State POA. The POA would need to be in two parts:-

Part-1 regarding the upgradation of existing slums and

Part-2 regarding the action to prevent new slums

In Part-1 the State would need to survey and map all exiting slums in selected cities proposed by the State for coverage under RAY. In Part-2 the Plan would need to assess the rate of growth of the city with a 20 year perspective, and based on the numbers specify the actions proposed to be taken to obtain commensurate lands or virtual lands and promote the construction of affordable EWS houses so as to stay abreast of the demand. This part would need also to make necessary legislative and administrative changes to enable urban land expansion, and in town planning regulations to legislate reservations for EWS/LIG housing in all new developments. Annexure III indicates the broad outline of a State Slum-free Plan of Action (POA).

The State POA would include the cities identified by the State and intended to be covered under RAY in five years, and their phasing. It will commit to a ‘whole city’ approach, so that an integrated and holistic plan is prepared for the upgradation of all existing slums, notified or non-notified, in each identified city. Within a city, in each slum taken up for redevelopment, a holistic coverage would be required, with provision of all basic civic infrastructure and services as well as decent housing, with emphasis on planned layouts (after reconfiguration of plots based on existing /modified building bye-laws wherever necessary) and on total sanitation (by provision of individual toilets and water supply to each household). With regard to housing, the State may adopt a flexible approach as to the manner of construction and arrangement of funds for construction, to follow a beneficiary- built housing model with design and technical support from the Municipality/State, or to construct housing through state parastatal or private partners or by delineating a mix of methods. The POA would be expected to give primacy to a Public-Private-Partnership model that would enable it to cross-subsidise through FSI and land use concessions as much of the slum redevelopment as possible. The POA would be required to describe the model proposed to be followed in each slum, the efforts for obtaining the community’s participation and the financial strategy for holistic development along with timelines.

The State POA will include Slum-free City Plans of Action for the cities identified for inclusion under RAY. While the City POA has to be developed for each city included under RAY as a whole, the pace of slum upgradation within the city can be phased out. For the purpose of phasing, each city may be divided into zones and each zone be taken up as a whole to ensure the universal provision of basic infrastructure and services and decent housing in all slums in the zone, and to attain slum-freeness. A city-wide/zone based approach would enable shifting untenable slums to the nearest possible available vacant land or notified slum which has the space to receive them.

States would be required to forward the Slum-free City Plans of Action (POA) to the Centre for clearance along with the bill for assignment of property rights cleared by the State Cabinet and the commitment of the Government as to the session of the State Assembly before which it will be placed. In considering the POA, the Centre would particularly assess that the cities have been chosen to maximise cross-subsidisation, that the extent of commitment for cross-subsidisation through PPP has been fully explored; and that the mechanisms for community participation have been clearly delineated and activated.