Last Updated : Mar 31, 2020 04:10 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

Exclusive | Housing Ministry confident of making good of the time lost over COVID-19

For government contracts force majeure clause is always part of the agreement and will be taken care of, they say

Vandana Ramnani

A masked man stands for a thermal screening in a compound of a housing society. (Image credit: Shome Basu)

The government is confident that it would make good of the time lost during lockdown period on account of COVID-19 for all its housing initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and others, sources in the ministry of housing and urban affairs said.

"The government's priority right now is to ensure that the lockdown following the corona pandemic is successful and to tackle the challenge posed by COVID-19. Any time loss suffered by all missions initiated by the housing and urban affairs ministry will be duly made up. Whatever be the time loss due to Corona pandemic, we will certainly try and compensate for it. This is true for all the missions – the time would be made up," sources in the ministry told Moneycontrol.

"Coronavirus or its impact would be treated as force majeure and there may definitely be some arrangement between the homebuyers and builders to this effect," they said.

Close

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show

Vandana Ramnani

Associate Editor, Real Estate|Moneycontrol News

The sources said an advisory will also be issued to RERA.

"As regards Regulations under RERA, the Act itself envisages FMC and all authorities may be aware of that. We will also issue advisory to the RERA authorities in this regard. For government contracts, FMC is part of the agreement always. Hence, it will be taken care of," sources said.

For PMAY, the deadline is 2022 and there is enough time. “We are confident that we will complete all the houses by 2022,” the sources said.

So far a validated demand of 1.12 crore houses has been registered under the PMAY scheme. As per data available from the ministry, as many as 32 lakh houses have been handed over to beneficiaries, while 60 lakh units are under construction and are expected to be ready in next 12-18 months.

The Housing for All by 2022 initiative was launched by the Modi government within five months of assuming office. It’s all about ensuring a home for every Indian by 2022. Affordable housing has also been accorded infrastructure status, ensuring that developers in this segment have access to cheaper loans.

Track this blog for latest updates on coronavirus outbreak

The Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for the Middle Income Group (CLSS for MIG) was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 31, 2016 and has been extended until March 2021.

The Smart Cities Mission was launched on June 25, 2015. The first list of 20 cities announced on January 28, 2016. A fast-track list of 13 cities was announced on four months later. The second list of 27 cities was announced on September 20 2016. The third list of 30 cities announced on June 23, 2017 and the final list was announced in January 2018.

Under the mission, the Centre allocates Rs 500 crore to each of the cities for implementing projects proposed by it. This amount is matched with a grant of the same amount by the respective state.

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme is targeted at upgrading urban infrastructure across 500 towns and cities.

Follow our full coverage here

First Published on Mar 31, 2020 04:01 pm