Government to get Rs 100 crore for building 1 lakh houses

The Maharashtra government is set to get Rs 100 crore for constructing 1.09 lakh homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the state. Mhada, being the nodal agency for implementing PMAY in the state, will play the role of handholding agency between the Centre and different municipal corporations and zilla parishads for constructing homes under PMAY.

The proposal is to fund housing subsidy up to Rs 2.5 lakh for the Economical Weaker Section (EWS) category and for the first time buyers whose monthly household income is not more than Rs 25,000 and is willing to buy house of not more than 30 square metres or 322 square feet.

“The Centre has given its approval for granting funds of around Rs 100 crore and it will be soon transferred to the state government which will later transfer the funds to Mhada,” said an official from the housing department.

The state government has already received 76 proposals from various municipal corporations and zilla parishads for funding their construction.

“State has received proposals from Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Nanded, Aurangabad and the Konkan board of Mhada asking them to fund the construction of homes. The subsidy Rs Rs 2.5 lakh to first-time homebuyers will be shared by the state and Centre.

The sharing is ratio is Rs 1 lakh will be borne by the Centre and remaining Rs 1.5 lakh by the state,” the bureaucrat added.

The PMAY has replaced the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana (RGAY) after the BJP government came to power in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched PMAY on June 25, 2015.

To address the housing requirement of the masses, the Central government has set four components which includes slum redevelopment by using land as resource and credit linked subsidy where home loans will given at an interest rate of 6.5 per cent for 15 years.

“For the rural population of the state, the Centre has offered Rs 1 lakh subsidy for the construction of houses on private land. A meeting to discuss the roadmap for implementing PMAY in the state will be held in Mantralaya on Wednesday,” the bureaucrat added.