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Govt announces housing scheme for EPF members

The government is launching a housing scheme for members of the Employees Provident Fund on December 25, as part of its commitment to provide "housing for all".

Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said on Tuesday that the scheme "Pradhan Mantri Shramik Awas Yojana" was a Diwali gift for workers from his ministry and would be launched on the Prime Minister's birthday on December 25 in the capital.

The urban development ministry is indentifying 10,000 flats and plots in Delhi to be allotted to the workers under the scheme, which would be open to members of the EPF.

The minister said negotiations were also underway with HUDCO which would act as intermediary between the housing boards, local development authorities and the EPFO.

Chief ministers have been approached for participation in the scheme and most of them have shown enthusiasm, he said adding that it would be implemented in 216 centres across the country.

While the funds would be made available through housing finance agencies, the EPFO will interact with the employers and facilitate inter-face between the workers seeking housing finance and housing finance agencies.

There are 2.6 crore (26 million) EPF subscribers, most of them working in small-scale sector or seasonal establishments. The Central Board of Trustees of EPF had last month approved in principle the concept of setting up a housing scheme for its members.

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