Only 25 lakh houses out of the 80 lakh houses sanctioned in the last three years under the Centre's flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) are expected to be completed by 2019, when the Modi-led dispensation goes to people presenting its report card seeking a return to power.
The Government has set a target of 1 crore houses to be constructed in urban areas from 2015 to 2022, which means a whopping 75 lakh houses will have to be built in three years from 2019.
According to the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (HUA), 12 lakh houses, including 9 lakh green-based ones, have been so far handed over across the country.
As per the Ministry's official figures, 35 lakh houses are under construction under the PMAY (Urban). A senior official of HUA said that construction work is going on in full swing and it is exploring use of new technologies to ensure faster completion.
The PMAY (U), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, aims to ensure "Housing for all by 2022" by providing financial assistance to beneficiary. HUA Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will review PMAY (Urban) implementation in eight northeastern states on December 1. The ministry has approved construction of 2,30,000 affordable houses for urban poor in the eight States of north east region during the last about 4 years.
As per the official data available, 4,320 cities and towns have been included in the PMAY (U) across the country and 11,226 projects have been approved till July this year. PMAY (U) has four components — 'Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme' (CLSS), In Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) and Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) under which ministry provide central assistance to beneficiaries to construct their own houses.
The scope of CLSS, initially for EWS and Low Income Group (LIG), was last year extended to Middle Income Group (MIG). The scheme approved initially for one year has been extended up to March 31, 2019. As per ministry's data, as many as 2.75 lakh beneficiaries have already availed the subsidy to the tune of Rs 6000 crore under the scheme.
Over 88,000 beneficiaries have been disbursed CLSS in Gujarat, while 74,000 people have availed the subsidy in Madhya Pradesh in three categories - economically weaker section (EWS), low income group (LIG) and middle income group (MIG) categories under the PMAY (U). As many as 15,000 beneficiaries have got CLSS in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh each, followed by Tamil Nadu with 12,000 beneficiaries. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had the most number of beneficiaries under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) after Gujarat.
Under CLSS, Centre provides interest subsidy of up to around Rs. 2.67 lakh on home loans to individuals, which reduces the principal outstanding amount of the loan. The total estimated investment under the PMAY (Urban) is Rs. 2,96,919 crore.
It has divided MIG in two categories which cover annual household income between Rs. 6 lakh to 12 lakh and second category covers Rs. 12 lakh to 18 lakh.
The home loan borrower can then opt for lower EMIs or repay loan faster with original EMI. Beneficiaries who are eligible for interest subsidy under the CLSS scheme have to apply to their lenders for availing the subsidy benefit.