The Union government has made it mandatory for all houses built under the Housing For All mission to be registered in the name of the lady of the house or jointly with her husband. “This is being done since women would never think of selling house unlike men”, said a posting on the Press Information Bureau website quoting Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu.
He has said that the baton of urban transformation in the country had been passed on to the States. States are now at full liberty to design and approve projects under the mission, the Minister said urging the States and urban local bodies to rise to the occasion.
The Union government is committed to making the mission a success despite the big challenge of raising the resources needed for it.
The government has also declared its commitment to measures like interest subvention of 6.5 per cent for the economically weaker sections and the low income group in its quest to achieve housing for all by 2022.
But the issue of raising resources for the ambitious mission continues to be daunting.
At the June 26 consultations held in Delhi, Mr. Naidu told the States that urban bodies must be strengthened and that focus should be on revenue generation.
The government is hopeful that measures to attract foreign direct investment into the housing sector will yield the desired results.
Among the measures adopted by the government are: reduction in the minimum built-up area from the former 50,000 sq. m. to 20,000 sq. m. The minimum investment norm has been scaled down from US$10 million to US$5 million.
There is exemption from this norm in the case of affordable housing.
The government has also permitted external commercial borrowings to the tune of US$ one billion for affordable housing as well as slum improvement projects during the current financial year. The government will pursue the Real Estate Development Bill to protect the interests of the house buyers and enhance the credibility of the builders.
Enabling priority sector lending for infrastructure and building sectors; increased tax incentives for investments in housing and inclusion of slum development in the list of corporate responsibility activities are other measures considered by the government to boost the flow of resources.
The government has committed itself to finance projects aimed at turning waste into energy. Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources Piyush Goyal, who was part of the nationwide consultations, said that the government would support such projects and that a policy on this would be soon finalised.
The measures adopted by the government include reduction in the minimum built-up area from the former 50,000 sq. m. to 20,000 sq. m.
