Govt collecting info on builders indulged in fraud in name of PMAY: Hardeep Singh Puri

The Central government was collecting information from the states and union territories on private builders allegedly indulging in forgery in the name of the affordable housing scheme, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said various steps have been taken by the ministry to deal with complaints regarding bogus developers offering flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). To a query whether private builders were indulging in forgery on a large scale under the housing scheme, he said, "The information is being collected from the states/UTs governments." Besides issuing public notice in major regional dailies cautioning people against possible fraud in the name of PMAY (U), the ministry has posted a disclaimer on its website intimating public that government has not authorised any private entity to collect money for availing any benefit under the affordable housing scheme, Puri said. Under PMAY(U), the government offers benefits under various components to help people buy house. The ministry targets to build around 1.2 crore houses for urban poor.