LOK SABHA
CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES UNDER PMAY-U
NO. 342. DR. SHASHI THAROOR
Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) the actual number of applicants, houses sanctioned and those completed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) as on present date;
(b) whether PMAY shall meet its aim of constructing around 20 million houses at an affordable price by March 31, 2022, i.e. at the rate of 30 lakh houses per year;
(c) if so, the details thereof and the action plan being taken in this direction;
(d) if not, the reasons therefor and the expected deadline to meet the proposed targets;
(e) whether the steps have been taken to deal with a trust deficit and low investor interest from private developers, if so, the details thereof, and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(f) whether measures have been taken by the Government to expedite work in times of the Covid-19 crisis, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
(SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)
(a) to (d): Land and Colonization are State subjects. This Ministry through various programmatic interventions supplements the efforts of State/ Union Territory (UT) Governments for providing houses to eligible urban beneficiaries of the country. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), being implemented since 25.06.2015, is a demand driven scheme and Government of India has not fixed any target for construction of houses in a State/Union UTs. All State/UT Governments have undertaken a demand survey to assess housing requirement for the eligible beneficiaries in urban areas and prepared project proposals accordingly. Against validated demand of 112.24 lakh houses, 114.02 lakh houses have been sanctioned so far under PMAY-U. Of the sanctioned houses, nearly 92.40 lakh houses have been grounded for construction; of which 54.40 lakh houses have been completed/delivered. All the projects sanctioned within the scheme period i.e. till March, 2022 are to be completed as per the time schedules mentioned in respective Detailed Project Reports (DPRs).
(e) : Government of India has taken slew of regulatory, policy, financial and fiscal reforms to encourage investment by the private developers specially in the affordable housing sector and boost the real estate sector, while implementing PMAY-U. Few of the initiative taken are (i) Reduction in GST from 8% to 1% (with no input tax credit) for Affordable housing and for other housing projects from 12% to 5% (with no input tax credit), (ii) Accordance of Infrastructure Status to Affordable Housing to enable loans at cheaper rate through priority sector lending, (iii) Allowing 100% FDI under automatic route in construction projects, (iv) Income tax exemption under Section 80 IBA of IT Act (v) Introduction of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 to regulate the real estate sector and ensure transparency and accountability etc.
Admissible Central assistance in projects was made available in time even during Covid-19 pandemic to States/UTs so as to ensure the momentum of construction work for the houses under PMAY- U. Moreover, in order to encourage healthy competition among States/ UTs/ ULBs and recognize their best performance, PMAY-U Awards 2021 have been strategized through 150-Days Challenge process for performance against pre-defined indicators with emphasis on grounding, completion and occupancy of houses. The Ministry has been reviewing the progress of the scheme on regular basis and all States/UTs have been advised to complete all the sanctioned projects/houses within the stipulated timeline.
