50% target for affordable homes is met: Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs

Hardeep Puri, the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) said his ministry has already achieved six million or 50 per cent of the 11 million affordable homes targeted under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U).

Puri said the three key features of the PMAY-U that make it successful are the land, demand and subsidies. With the land being made available, it takes 40 per cent of the cost off the developer; the demand has been estimated scientifically; and the government stepped in with subsidies. He said the original requirement of affordable homes for the urban poor was estimated at 18 million by 2022, but a revised survey indicated it was 11 million.

“At our recent meeting, I checked that the ministry is sanctioning 6,28,000 affordable homes per month, and we have already sanctioned 60 lakh or 6 million. I am confident that we will complete the target well ahead of the deadline,” he said, enumerating various initiatives like game-changing Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act taken by the government.

A Memorandum of Understanding for a skill development programme for the construction sector was also signed between MoHUA and NAREDCO. As per the agreement, 2.5 lakh urban poor would be trained over a period of three years under the Skill India Mission. The programme is aimed at training unskilled manpower at construction sites, ensuring employment opportunities for the urban poor through a captive placement model.