UPA\'s housing schemes to merge; Govt for more private sector role

12th September, 2014

$UPA\'s housing schemes to merge; Govt for more private sector role$

New Delhi: With the target of providing of providing houses for all by 2022, a new integrated National Housing Mission will be launched soon by merging some of UPA's flagship schemes like JNNURM and Rajiv Awas Yojana.

Noting that the gigantic task of ensuring housing for all needs large scale participation of private developers, Urban Development and Housing Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the Government is committed to promote Public-Private-Partnership and operational hurdles will be removed by making available land required and enabling expeditious clearances.

The Minister said that in consolations with states/UTs and urban local bodies, an effort is being made to enable online clearances for housing and other urban development projects.

"We have experiences of JNNURM, Indira Awas Yojana, Rajiv Awas Yojana, Rajiv Rinn Yojana. There are so many yojana some of them even did not take off," Naidu said at a real estate conference here.

While JNNURM was meant to create urban infrastructure and also affordable housing, Rajiv Awas Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana and Rajiv Rinn Yojana launched with much fanfare were exclusively for providing housing for the needy and economically weaker sections in the society.

Targeting UPA government's flagship programmes, Naidu said Rajiv Rinn Yojana, "inspite of best efforts, could not take off. So after taking over we have studied all these schemes and now the government has decided to merge all schemes into one. It will be National Housing Mission which will be launched soon."

Lamenting the shortage of housing, he said "a decent house is a basic requirement for a dignified living. But even after 67 years of Independence, crores of families do not have proper houses to live which is big challenge before the country. That is why the government has given a clarion call for houses for all by 2022."

Assuring real estate developers all help, Naidu asserted that the proposed Real Estate Regulation Act will not "stifle and strangulate the development of real estate sector but only seeks to protect the interests of the consumers."

While responding to the concerns over excessive regulation of construction sector, Naidu emphasised the need for protection of consumers whose confidence is critical for the growth of the sector.

"Given the deficiencies in the 'Law of Torts', the consumers are finding it difficult to address their grievances as legal remedies are expensive and time consuming."

He said things were not moving as per expectation for many years now.

"The Ministry would consider the suggestion to rename the proposed law as ?Real Estate Facilitation and Consumer Protection Act?," he said.

Naidu said that he is making efforts to enable increased flow of bank finances into real estate sector through various options including that of priority lending.