Centre releases Rs 50 cr for housing scheme

Amaravati: The construction of 1.2 lakh houses for poor, including slum-dwellers in the state may begin soon under the mission ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Housing for all (urban)’ (PMAY- HFA(U) as the Union government released around Rs 50 crore to the state towards the first instalment of Central assistance for the financial year 2016-17.

Highlights:

• State govt to build 1.2 lakh houses
• State accords administrative sanction to utilise the amount
• APTIDCO to act as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme
• However, there are fears of the cost of construction going up as the Municipal Administration and Urban Development intends to implement Standard Scheduled Rates (SSR) 2016-17

The state government accorded administrative sanction for utilisation of Rs 49.64 crore as supplementary grant during current FY 2017-18. The Central and the state governments will provide Rs 1.5 lakh each per house.

AP Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APTIDCO) will act as nodal agency for implementation of the scheme. Following the request of APTIDCO managing director, the Finance Department issued budget release order on Friday for Rs 49.64 crore.

There are two types of dwelling units under the PMAY- HFA (U) for economically weaker sections (EW). Under EW-1, the required minimum capital area is 27 square metres and the income eligibility is Rs 1.2 lakh per year.

For EW-2 type houses, it is up to 30 square metres and the annual income is stipulated between Rs 1.21 lakh and Rs 3 lakh. The subsidies of the Central government under PMAY of Rs 1.5 lakh or around Rs 2.3 lakh which are given under EWS and LIG (Lower Income Group) are also applicable for the PMAY- HFA (U) projects.

However, there are concerns over the rise in cost of houses to houseless poor in capital city, Amaravati, and other parts of State may force them into indebtedness as Municipal Administration and Urban Development is determined to implement high rates (SSR 2016-17) to those houses.

The rates fixed by MAUD of around Rs 1,900, Rs 1,800 and Rs 1,700 per sq ft depend on extent of houses and will be a huge burden on the poor. They have to repay between Rs 2.9 lakh and Rs 4 lakh to banks as loan amount and also spend between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh on their own.

Interestingly, some municipal corporations, including Vijayawada Municipal Corporation built houses for poor in June at the rate of Rs 1,358 per sq ft and the total unit cost was Rs 3.52 lakh (for 250.2 sq ft). A senior builder opined that the unit cost may not exceed Rs 1,500 even by using Monolithic Technology. Repayment of huge amounts can be a burden to the poor and the objective should not be affected, he said.

By K Varaprasada Rao