63 lakh houses sanctioned, only 12 lakh built! Analysis of Modi's ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), one of Narendra Modi’s ambitious projects, is stumbling way behind from is estimated target, shows a recent study.

So far the government has sanctioned a total of 63 lakh crore houses under the scheme. (Image: PTI)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), one of Narendra Modi’s ambitious projects, is stumbling way behind from is estimated target, shows a recent study. Under the Housing for all by 2022 scheme 1 crore houses were to be constructed and 64 lakh houses have been sanctioned so far. However, only 12 lakh houses have been built while, 23 lakh are still under construction, highlighted a report by rating agency CRISIL. More than that, the Central government will need to shell out a whopping amount of Rs 1 lakh crore over the next three years for achieving the target of 1 crore houses under the scheme. Adding to that the CRISIL report also suggests that the Central government would also need Rs 1.5 lakh crore in seven financial years through 2022, at an average Rs 1.5 lakh per house, to achieve its goal of housing for all by 2022. However, as of now, the government has just disbursed Rs 32,500 crore or 22 per cent of the total cost so far. The report also highlights that by November 2018, the government has sanctioned a total of 63 lakh crore houses under the scheme. Out of the total houses sanctioned, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu together accounted for 55 per cent share. Speaking about the same, CRISIL Senior Director Prasad Koparkar said, “Our calculations show the government will have to garner around Rs 1 lakh crore over the next three years to achieve the target of building one crore houses. This is going to be a tall task given the current fiscal arithmetic.” Even for the extra-budgetary resources, the government has already initiated fund-raising (in the form of bonds) through entities such as the Housing and Urban Development Corporation. The rating agency also highlighted the fact that unavailability of land in prime areas, low participation of private developers on account of brand dilution, bidding mechanism, stringent cost and time schedules resulting in low yields and increasing construction cost due to absence of bulk sourcing of materials were some major roadblocks in proper implementation of the scheme.