“The government’s decision to allocate Rs 48,000 crores towards Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY), which will be key accelerating the pace of ‘Housing for All’ agenda that the government had set out to achieve. This allocation is significantly higher than the allocations in the last two budgets which demonstrates the government’s commitment towards housing for all,” said Shishir Baijal, CMD, Knight Frank India. The government has allocated Rs 48,000 crore for the completion of 80 lakh houses under the PMAY scheme in the financial year 2022-23. This is significantly higher compared to Rs 27,500 crore that was allocated for the ongoing financial year for both urban and rural regions. The central government has also stated that it will work with the state governments for reduction of time required for all land and construction-related approvals, for promoting affordable housing for the middle class and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in urban areas.

“The government plan to work with the state government for a reduction of time for land and construction-related approvals promoting affordable housing for the middle class and economically weaker sections in urban areas is laudable. Easing land and construction-related approvals will help the development firms in meeting the delivery timelines,” said Rajan Bandelkar, president, NAREDCO. The government has also proposed to work with the financial sector regulators to expand access to capital along with a reduction in the cost of intermediation for affordable housing.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) mission was launched in June 2015 with an objective to provide housing for all in urban areas by year 2022.Under this scheme, the government has already sanctioned support to 1.14 crore houses, of which the construction of 54.45 lakh houses has been completed. The mission provides central assistance to the implementing agencies through states and Union Territories (UTs) and Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) for providing houses to all eligible families and beneficiaries.

As per PMAY(U) guidelines, the size of a house for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) could be up to 30 sq meter carpet area, however, states and UTs have the flexibility to enhance the size of houses in consultation and approval of the ministry.