Budget 2018: Housing Ministry Wants FM To Shower More Funds

After getting a large share of allocations announced in the previous Budget, which laid special emphasis on affordable housing and middle-class homebuyers, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry this year seeks higher fund allocation. The ministry spearheads three prominent projects of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government – the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Swacch Bharat Mission and the Smart City Mission. According to ministry officials, these three projects are time-bound and need better fund allocation to achieve the objectives within the set timeline.

The expectations

*The ministry is looking forward to a three-fold increase in the fund allocation for the PMAY in urban areas to Rs 20,000 crore. The ministry aims to construct 1.2 crore homes for the urban poor by 2022.

* For the Smart City Mission, the ministry is looking forward to a four-fold hike in fund allocation of Rs 16,000 crore in Budget 2018.

*For the Swachh Bharat Mission also known as the Clean India Mission, the ministry is looking for a Budget allocation of Rs 9,000 crore.

The status so far

*Of the total approved Central assistance of Rs 57,669 crore, Rs 12,916 crore has already been released to the states/union territories.

*Almost 81,600 beneficiaries have been credited with the interest subsidy of Rs 1,646 crore on housing loans under the Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS).

*Building plan for 37.5 lakh houses have been approved for funding under the mission. About 17.32 lakh houses are in various stages of construction. Of these, 4.68 lakh homes have been completed since the launch of the mission in 2015.

*The ministry has selected 99 smart cities so far and each has been provided with the Central assistance of Rs 500 crore for implementing projects. These cities will now have to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to get further assistance from the Centre.

*Under the Smart City Mission, while only 148 projects worth Rs 1,872 crore are completed while over 2,800 projects worth Rs 1.35 lakh crore are under progress.

Things of the past

In the Budget 2017-18:

* The PMAY scheme was allocated Rs 6,200 crore in Budget 2017-18.

*Affordable housing was awarded an infrastructure status.

* The housing ministry was allocated funds worth Rs 4,000 crore.

* The ministry had received an allocation of Rs 2,300 crore for the Swachh Bharat Mission.