The finer points about the scheme to provide relief in interest on home loans for city dwellings will be announced in September, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri said on August 31.
Addressing a press conference, Puri said the modalities of the scheme are being worked out. “We are fleshing out details of the new home loan scheme for city dwellers that was announced by the prime minister on Independence Day. It is in the advanced stages of development. We are almost ready,” he said.
During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the scheme for middle-class families residing in rented accommodation, chawls or tenements and illegal colonies in cities.
“The weaker sections living in cities face a lot of problems. Middle-class families are dreaming of buying their own houses. We are coming up with a new scheme in the coming years that will benefit those families that live in cities but are in rented houses, slums, chawls and unauthorised colonies. If they want to build their own houses, we will assist them with relief in interest rates and loans from banks that will help them save lakhs of rupees,” Modi had said.
The housing ministry is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or PMAY (Urban), which was launched in 2015. Three of the four verticals of the scheme—beneficiary-led construction, affordable housing in partnership and in-situ slum redevelopment—have been extended till December 31, 2024. The fourth vertical—credit-linked subsidy scheme—under which beneficiaries were given an interest subsidy on home loans—was not extended beyond March 31, 2022.
According to the ministry, around 1.18 crore houses have been sanctioned under PMAY (Urban) till July 31 this year, out of which 76.02 lakh have been delivered to the beneficiaries.
On Amitabh Kant committee’s report on legacy real estate projects
On the report submitted by the Amitabh Kant committee on legacy real estate projects, the housing minister said he has written to chief ministers and asked them to implement them.
“I have written to the chief ministers to implement the recommendations,” he told reporters.
Elaborating on the recommendations made by the 14-member panel, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi said that the committee has recommended de-linking registration of projects from the recovery of dues from builders.
“If construction of flats is almost complete but homebuyers have not been handed over the housing units on account of pending occupancy certificate or no objection certificates from the authorities concerned, they should be allowed to take possession even if there are builders’ dues pending before the authorities,” Joshi told reporters.
The committee has proposed that RERA should initiate completion of some of these projects. “It should appoint an administrator to complete the projects, collect the remaining amount from buyers and the builders and ensure that the project is completed,” he said, adding the third bucket concerns amendments to the insolvency code.
“It has proposed that the resolution professional should be allowed to register and transfer properties in the buyers’ name without the developer coming into the picture,” he said.
“We have spoken to several governments and authorities on the committee’s recommendations and the response has been positive. We are hopeful that several cases will be resolved,” Joshi told reporters.
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Smart Cities projects
Puri also exuded confidence that the smart cities projects will be completed by June 2022. “All smart cities projects will be completed by 2024,” he told reporters.
'PM-eBus Sewa' scheme
For a Metro-like experience, the PM-eBus Sewa scheme will also be rolled out in the next five to six months, the minister said.
Under the scheme, 10,000 electric buses will be provided to 169 cities under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the minister told reporters.
Secretary, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manoj Joshi said the scheme will be rolled out in 169 cities and states are required to submit their proposals by September 30. He said the guidelines were issued two days back.
According to Joshi, tickets will be available through an automatic fare system.
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