Housing-for-all plan cemented, Rs 48,000 crore for 80 lakh units

In a big boost to affordable housing, the Union Budget has set aside Rs 48,000 crore for completion of 80 lakh houses under the PM Awas Yojana in urban and rural areas.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Centre would work with the state governments to cut down time required for land- and construction- related approvals. "We shall also work with the financial sector regulators to expand access to capital along with reduction in cost of intermediation," she said.

However, the government has not extended the popular 'Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme' (CLSS) under which the government gives interest subvention at the rate of 6% on a housing loan of Rs 6 lakh to homebuyers with yearly income less than Rs 6 lakh. The scheme is set to lapse on March 31.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) was launched in 2015 and PMAY-Gramin in 2016 to address housing shortages among the EWS/ LIG and MIG category, including slum-dwellers. It envisioned a pucca house to eligible urban and rural households by 2022 with all basic amenities like tap water and sanitation, and electricity to all rural households.

As of January 3 this year, against the total assessed demand of 1.12 crore urban houses, 1.14 crore have been sanctioned. Of these, 91.47 lakh houses were grounded for construction and 53.42 lakh were completed or delivered.

According to the ministry, 17.35 lakh beneficiaries availed subsidy on housing loans through CLSS, of which 6.15 lakh are from middle income group and the rest from EWS/LIG. A total of Rs 39,620 crore interest subsidy was released under the scheme: MIG beneficiaries received Rs 12,395 crore and the rest Rs 26,685 went to EWS/LIG beneficiaries.

Under the PMAY(Urban), Rs 1.85 lakh crore was committed so far, out of which Rs 1.16 lakh crore was released. The states have committed Rs 1.40 lakh crore. The total outlay, including contributions from beneficiaries, was to the tune of Rs 7.52 lakh crore, giving a huge impetus to the demand for steel and cement in the country.

Under PMAY-Gramin, the government aimed to deliver 1.95 crore houses by 2022. Between 2016 and 2022, according to government data, the scheme is about to deliver 1.71 crore housing units. It has been extended up to 2024 with a target of 2.95 crore pucca houses, adding 1 crore houses.


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