Successive governments in India have failed in implementation of their housing schemes to rehabilitate slums. While analyzing the reasons for the same, critically discuss if current government schemes in this direction are designed to correct past mistakes.

The key reasons for failure of the various housing schemes to rehabilitate the slums are as follows:

• Lack of planning and poor management of projects: Most of the housing complex built for rehabilitation of slums are constructed far away from the livelihood of the slum dwellers, in such case slum dwellers are reluctant to shift to new housing complex due to its long distance from the place where slum dwellers earn their money for livelihood and other factors such as inadequate of services as schools, hospitals and connectivity.
• Delay in project completion: The slum clearance board takes years to complete the housing projects, when new housing complex are completed and allocated, the size of slum would be expanded due to infusion of people, which creates challenges in allocation.
• Poor quality of housing and services: There are reports telling that the quality of housing are poor and lack of public utilities services such as improper connectivity, water, electricity and others.

Most of the previous schemes are ex-situ housing programmes which are economically costly and has several challenges such as land acquisition and after completion of projects the occupation rate is low. In response to these challenges the government has relaunched:
 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana aims to :

• In-situ rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers.
• Credit linked subsidy
• Affordable housing in partnership
• Subsidy for beneficiary led individual house construction/enhancement,

However this scheme also is not devoid of challenges. For example, certain slum dwellers have illegally occupied land and many slums are situated in fragile areas such as on the banks of rivers and sewages, rehabilitating cannot be done in this areas. Further, providing services such as electricity, connectivity (roads), sewage connection in jam packed congested areas is a major issue.