Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State(I/C) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has informed that since launch of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (U) on 25th June 2015, the Government has sanctioned a total of 30.76 lakhs houses across all verticals. Currently, 15.65 lakh houses have been grounded and are at various stages of construction and about 4.13 lakh houses have been constructed since the launch of the mission. Inaugurating the National workshop on Accelerating Implementation of Urban Missions: PMAY(Urban) and Swachh Bharat mission(Urban) in New Delhi, the Minister stated that the Urban India is undergoing a transition in terms of physical forms, demographic profile and socio-economic diversity. The important role of cities in national economic process and their global linkages demand more attention for their development, than being hitherto given. Cities are expected to perform efficiently in keeping with emerging demands for employment, commerce, trade, industry and other services. The Housing sector is the engine of economic growth that enables and feeds into the aforementioned. It is a vital sector of the economy creating jobs and generating taxes and wages that positively influence the quality of life. The government has embarked on an ambitious plan to empower Indian citizens by 2022 that marks the 75 years of independent India, he added.
Addressing the day long workshop, the Minister observed that the local demand for housing is pegged at around 12 million and informed that the government has endeavored a number of measures like infrastructure status to affordable housing, direct tax benefits under Section 80-IBA of the Income Tax Act, relaxation in FDI and ECB proposals, reduction in holding period for long-term capital gain benefits and standardized usage of carpet area definition. Emphasis on reforms like stamp duty exemption and single window clearance, have been actively pursued by the Ministry.
Dwelling on the initiatives taken in the direction of addressing the housing demand, the Minister informed that in order to create an enabled environment this Ministry has recently launched the 8 PPP models for affordable housing along with the housing technology challenge to bring in the state of art innovations into the housing sector. The Public Private Partnership Models for Affordable Housing has been initiated in order to address some of the identified challenges and give fillip to the Mission’s objectives. It is envisaged that a sizeable and sustainable response through strategic PPP models will allow a self-propelled market to address the challenge of land availability and its high cost. The private sector participation will also enhance access to financing and capital markets, as well as reduce costs through gains in construction, operations and time-bound delivery of houses.
The Minister urged the private sector, the State Government and Parastatal bodies should join hands to fast track the Mission’s objective by coming forward to invest their resources and energy in public housing.
