Govt plans to use PSU land

In what could be a big boost toward achieving its target of ensuring affordable housing to all, the government plans to allow the use of land owned by public sector undertakings (PSU) for building homes. Accordingly, the government plans to bring changes to the current land use policy, stated a report. As per reports, vast amount of surplus land available within the control of PSUs will be used for the construction of low cost housing in urban areas. Earlier, in September the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had given an indication in this direction after it announced it has evolved eight public-private partnership options, including six for promoting affordable housing using government lands. The new decision comes after  calculations indicated that over one lakh affordable homes of 800 square feet each could be built on approximately 2500 acres land that is available from eight PSUs. These include HMT Bearings in Hyderabad, Hindustan Antibiotics in Pune, Heavy Engineering Corporation in Ranchi, Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in Gurgaon and HMT Watches in Nainital which are facing a possible shut down. The plan, if it becomes a reality, could be a big boost for government’s “Housing for All by 2022 Mission” that aims to construct around 1.2 crore new homes.