India’s Affordable Housing Scheme Deadline Extended Till 2024

The government has extended the deadline for its affordable housing scheme after states and union territories sought more time to complete already sanctioned houses.

On Wednesday, the cabinet approved the extension of the ‘Housing For All’ scheme till Dec. 31, 2024, according to a government statement. The earlier deadline was for March 2022.

The extension, it said, will give time to states and union territories to implement the scheme, including selection of beneficiaries, with the central government offering financial assistance to complete already sanctioned 122.69 lakh houses till March 31, 2022.

“Of the total sanctioned 123 lakh houses, proposals of 40 lakh houses were received late (during the last two years of scheme) from the states/UTs which require another two years to complete them,” the statement said. “Up to March 31, 2022, central assistance/subsidy of Rs 1,18,020.46 crore has been released and Rs 85,406 crore will be released till Dec. 31, 2024.”

Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha during the recently concluded monsoon session of parliament, had said the government was considering extending the deadline to complete sanctioned houses without changing the funding pattern or implementation methodology.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban or the ‘Housing for All’ aims to provide all-weather pucca houses to the economically weak as well as lower-income families living in temporary homes or slums. This is done via financial assistance and in some cases, interest subsidy on home loans to middle-income earners.

The scheme—targeted to be completed when India reaches its 75th year of independence—was slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic and started piling up a mismatch between the number of houses sanctioned and built, BQ Prime had reported earlier.