Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, on March 9, presented the financial Budget of 2023-24 with an outlay of Rs 5.47 lakh crore and focus on housing and infrastructure.
The Budget has proposed continuation of the 1 percent stamp duty waiver to women homebuyers. It has also proposed a new housing scheme named 'Modi Awas Gharkul Yojana' with the aim of constructing 10 lakh homes for other backward classes (OBC).
Presenting the Budget, Fadnavis said, "The Budget is aimed at priorities of the government that includes agriculture, women’s safety and safety of backward classes, employment and environment-friendly development."
Also read: Maharashtra Budget 2023-24: State proposes additional income support for farmers
Stamp duty waiver to women homebuyers to continue
Woman buyers of housing properties will continue to enjoy the 1 per cent concession in stamp duty. However, while reading out the Budget proposals, Fadnavis said that the existing condition that a woman cannot sell a residential unit to a male buyer for a period of 15 years will be relaxed.
Modi Awas Gharkul Yojana
The Maharashtra government has announced a new housing scheme ― ‘Modi Awas Gharkul Yojana’. The scheme aims to construct 10 lakh homes for the OBC community over the next three years at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. Of these, three lakh dwelling units will be completed in 2023-24 at a cost of Rs 3,600 crore, said Fadnavis.
Rural housing
Additionally, the State government aims to construct 10 lakh housing units in rural Maharashtra.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), four lakh housing units will be constructed this year. Of this, 60 per cent or 2.5 lakh housing units will be for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while 1.5 lakh will be for other categories.
Further, in the Ramai Awas Yojana, 1.5 lakh housing units will be constructed at an outlay of Rs 1,800 crore, of which 25,000 units will be for the Matang community.
One lakh housing units will be constructed at an outlay of Rs 1,200 crore in Shabri, Pardhi and Adim Awas Yojana. In the Yashwantrao Chavan Mukts Vasahat Yojana, 25,000 housing units will be built for the vimukt jathi and nomadic tribes and 25,000 units for the Dhangar community. The Budget has proposed making available Rs 600 crore towards this initiative.
Logistics park
According to the Budget proposals, the State government will come up with a new logistics policy and create a logistics hub on 1,000 acres of land in Nagpur.
Also read: Maharashtra Budget: Devendra Fadnavis faces tough task of paring state's debt burden
Circular economy parks
The State plans to come up with six new circular economy parks in six cities of Maharashtra ― Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Nagpur, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik and Ratnagiri.
The economy parks will be based on the central government’s principles of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.
Department allocation
The urban development department of Maharashtra has been allocated Rs 9,725 crore, followed by Rs 3,746 crore for the transport and ports department and Rs 1,232 crore for the housing department.
Infrastructure focus
The Maharashtra government is confident that a Metro network of over 300 km will come up in MMR in the coming years.
For the beautification of Mumbai, the Budget has proposed an allocation of Rs 1,729 crore. For the water transportation project of connecting Thane with the Vasai creek near Mumbai, an amount of Rs 424 crore has been proposed.
The Budget also announced Rs 162 crore for construction of jetty and related passenger water transport at Radio Club near Gateway of India.
Start-up training institute
The government intends to set up a residential training and research institute at Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai, where training necessary for setting up start-ups will be offered.
A new policy for the gems and jewellery industry is in the works. A gem and jewellery park will be set up at Navi Mumbai.
Nagpur-Goa Expressway
A 760-km long expressway between Nagpur and Goa at a cost of Rs 86,000 crore has been proposed. The expressway will pass through six districts of Maharashtra, and help boost the economies of Marathwada, Vidarbha, and Konkan regions of Maharashtra.
Welcome move
“The 1 percent duty relief for women homebuyers is a welcome move. This will empower more women to become homebuyers and thus address a long-due concern of gender disparity. The allocation of Rs 36,000 crore for state-wide infrastructural boost, backed by a slew of new airports in Shirdi, Purandar and Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, besides development of waterways and roadways, will lead to a 10x growth in connectivity with the financial capital of the country,” said Cyrus Mody, Founder and Managing Partner at Viceroy Properties.
