Governments around the world have been focussing on providing low-cost housing schemes. In the wake of the pandemic and its resultant challenges, both the need for affordable houses and the inclination of the government has reached a peak. In this scenario, is housing affordable? A multitude of myths and misconceptions have shrouded the affordable housing sector.
Myth 1: Affordable housing is not affordable anymore
With the Indian government’s flagship mission of ‘Housing for All’, the affordable housing sector has remained the focus for many years now. This massive housing programme has sanctioned over 114 lakh houses, with a stupendous outlay of ₹7.52 lakh crore investment. An investment of this scale and substantial financial help under many categories have indeed made housing affordable for the weaker sections of society.
Myth 2: Affordable houses are of substandard quality
A lot of attention has been given to the affordable housing idea in a long-term and sustainable manner. With lakhs of crores already sanctioned, it is focussing on good quality projects designed by well-known architects, big contractors, engineering firms, along with panels of town planners. A tender is usually issued and after various rounds of scrutiny, the contract is given to design and build the projects if the project is under a housing board.
Or else, real-estate developers have to build and hand over a certain part of their plot to the housing and development boards. Also, efforts are on to bring in the latest housing technologies to make housing units attractive and on a par with regular construction. The myths of a substandard output are unfounded.
Myth 3: Affordable housing drives property prices down
The sites for affordable housing projects are chosen after careful analysis and survey. The needs, demography, connectivity, physical infrastructure, and social amenities are ensured before shortlisting a site. In fact, affordable housing projects have been found to expedite the development of the concerned area. When a large number of housing units are planned in an area, economic activities and demand for services automatically increase in the region. It increases manifold the property prices and Return on Investment (ROI) potential of the properties.
Myth 4: Affordable housing is only for the ultra-poor
The affordable housing schemes that have been rolled out are not limited to only the Economically Weaker Sections of society (EWS). The primary aim of the affordable housing schemes is to make the dwellings available at a reasonable price.
For the same reason, the government not only categorises the schemes under the EWS category but also offers houses to Middle Income Groups and High Income Groups. These are classified on the basis of the income potential of the applicants.
Myth 5: A difficult and tiresome process is involved
The rollout of the affordable housing schemes is primarily aimed at the poor and homeless sections of society. However, in many instances, it has been observed that fraud and undeserving applicants try to grab the low-cost units. These instances have led to a verification process where the needy applicants get a fair chance to get affordable houses. Now the process in most states has been completely digitalised, right from the application, registration, and allotment stages, through an online lottery system. The lottery process is projected live on YouTube and Facebook. This results in a fast and fair manner of units allocation to the applicants.
Myth 6: Affordable houses are not available in metros
The government is focussing on providing housing options across Indian cities. Be it a metro city like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Chennai, or tier-II and tier-III cities like Surat, Jodhpur, Agra, Lucknow, Raipur, or Palakkad, the affordable housing schemes are everywhere.
A holistic approach driven by the idea of providing homes to the needy is behind the conceptualisation and rollout of such schemes. In fact, the government is focussing more on tier-II and tier-III cities so that they can turn into the engines of economic growth.
To sum up, affordable housing is still a reality, and deserving applicants are seamlessly getting affordable housing units under the government schemes.
The writer is Chairman & MD Goel Ganga Developments.
