To keep pace with the rising housing demands in the country, the Indian government has encouraged special housing schemes which also focuses on financially supporting the buyers of various sections of the society with interest subsidies on home loans. The central government has ambitious plans of providing affordable housing to people under the Housing for All by 2022 or ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana’ and is thus making efforts to boost the construction activities.
Let us take a look at these housing schemes which have garnered the attention of many homebuyers:
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Urban)
Also called the Housing For All scheme, PMAY was launched in 2015 and aims to deliver houses for the homeless by 2022. While the centre is offering assistance to all states and UTs, it will also provide home loan interest subsidy for those buying their first home in urban areas. Under the scheme, the government will provide interest subsidy of three to four per cent for a home loan amount of up to Rs 9 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. So far, over 3 lakh homes under PMAY (urban) have been constructed against a target of 40.6 lakh by 2022.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana
Previously known as Indira Awas Yojna, this scheme focuses on providing pucca houses with basic amenities to homeless families. The objective is to build one crore homes of 25 sqm by 2022. The government provides financial assistance by sharing the cost of construction with the state in the ratio of 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for north eastern and hilly areas. The cost for the unit assistance of Rs 1.2 lakh is also provided to the beneficiary belonging to households without shelter, destitute/living on alms, manual scavengers, tribal groups and legally released bonded labour. So far, about 28.8 lakh homes have been constructed against a target of 1 crore by 2022.
Rajiv Awas Yojna
Launched in 2009, the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) envisages a slum-free India and encourages state and union territories (UT) to bring all illegal constructions within a formal system. To increase the affordable housing stock under the scheme, the Centre has approved the Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) scheme to be part of the RAY. The scheme also provides support of Rs 75,000 per economically-weaker sections (EWS), Dwelling Units (DUs) of the size of 21 to 40 sqm. So far, over Rs 1,398 crore has been spent while nearly 46,000 houses have been developed under the scheme.
Not just Centre, states are also working towards launching affordable housing for people. Here are some state-run housing scheme:
Delhi Development Authority Housing Scheme, 2018
The Housing Scheme 2018 by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will be launched in December which will offer 20,987 fresh units. Of these total units, 488 units will be three-bedroom apartments for the high-income group (HIG); 579 units for the middle-income group; and 16,296 units for the low-income group (LIG) while 3,624 units will be reserved for the economically-weaker section. These modern 1,2 and 3BHK houses, accompanied with amenities, will be built across Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Siraspur, Narela and Rohini. The price range for the units, bigger in size than before, have not yet been finalised. The scheme is linked to the credit linked scheme 2018 under PMAY.
Tamil Nadu Housing Board Scheme (TNHB)
The Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) developed into a full-fledged organisation in 1961 to fulfill the growing housing needs by providing shelter to people of various income groups. This time, the board has launched three housing schemes at different locations - KK Nagar Division, Ambattur and MKB Nagar - for the sale of affordable housing units for lower income groups and middle-income groups. Most of the floors in this scheme which is launched under the central sponsorship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, are available for the ON category. There are 406 flats available in TNHB KK Nagar Division housing system for LIG and MIG buyers.
Under a new residential plot scheme, the TNHB has invited applications from the middle-income group for allocation of 47 plots in Sevvapet Phase III scheme. These plots, ranging from 1,406 square meters to 2,660 sqms, are located near Chennai Thiruvallur National Highway. The price ranges between Rs 9.14 lakh and Rs 14.29 lakh.
Under TNHB’s Self Finance Scheme, a total of 506 flats of 2BHK sizes will be available for sale.
Under the Ambattur housing scheme, J J Nagar Division, 1,494 floors are available on 14-story platforms for the lower income group. The houses are 2BHK units sized at 614 sqft (or 58.2 sqms). The project is in Ambattur Scheme Phase IV, Chennai. The request is invited on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Maharashtra Housing And Area Development Authority (MHADA), 2018
A lottery scheme by MHADA is launched every year wherein affordable homes are allotted for buyers from different income groups, based on lottery draw results. This year, the lottery process is expected to take place in August. There will be 1,000 units on offer, 60 per cent of which will be reserved for the poorer sections. These housing units will range in price between Rs 15.35 lakh and Rs 1.42 crore and will be available in localities namely Borivli, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Mankhurd, Goregaon and Vikhroli.
NTR Urban Housing Scheme
The Andhra Pradesh government has set a target of building 19 lakh houses before the elections. It has approved 1,02,977 more houses under the NTR Urban Housing Scheme 2017-18. These homes will be linked with the PMAY- Housing for all (Urban) scheme to secure subsidy, with the centre approving Rs 1,544.66 crore for construction across 84 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Srikakulam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa and Anantapur districts. Each house will cost Rs 3.5 lakh and the centre will offer Rs 1.5 lakh and the state government will offer Rs 1 lakh. The beneficiaries will be given a loan worth Rs 75,000 and will only contribute Rs 25,000.
The state’s objective is to build 13,66,557 houses in rural areas and 5,39,286 houses in urban areas by investing a sum of Rs 56,000 crore.
With inputs from Harini Balasubramanian
