Availability of land an issue
The key issue with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) — which is moving at a rather slow pace and has achieved less than 10 per cent of its target — is the (lack of) availability of land, housing and urban poverty alleviation minister Venkaiah Naidu has said. “Availability of land is an issue for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana… The state governments are compelled to search for land,” Naidu told. Launched on June 25, 2015, the aim of PMAY is to address the gap in housing demand and supply in urban areas in respect to economically weaker sections, low and middle income groups and meet the target of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. Out of the target of 1.7 crore houses under PMAY, the government has so far approved 18.76 lakh. “In the first year when we came to power, we completed the projects of the previous government. We built 2.5 lakh houses. It was only in the second year when PMAY was launched,” Naidu said. The minister also said the states have been given the task to identify the beneficiaries and come up with a proposal to the Central government. He pointed out the huge difference between the market value and real value of land. “There is no co-relation. Market value of land is not in line with the real value…But now, land prices are stabilising,” he said. Talking about the delay in the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development), Act, 2016, the minister said he has requested states to notify the rules soon and immediately establish a regulatory authority and the appellate tribunal in order to ensure timely implementation of the Act. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, was notified by the ministry of housing, urban development and poverty alleviation on May 1 last year. All states were required to notify real estate rules, including the general rules and the agreement for sale rules, and establish the real estate regulatory authorities and the appellate tribunals by April 30, 2017, as the Act would commence its full operation from May 1. Last month, the government had also notified the remaining 32 sections of RERA which relate to registration of ongoing projects that have not received completion certificate, registration of property agents, and penalties for non-compliance. It has enforced the other 59 sections of the Act since May last year.
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