Union Budget may provide 15-20% more for affordable housing

The upcoming general Budget is likely to provide several sops for the housing sector, including 15-20 per cent higher fiscal support and extensions for flagship schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry was allocated Rs 54,581 crore for the current fiscal.

In addition, the scheme for tax deductions for affordable housing, announced in the 2019-20 Budget, is expected to get another extension beyond the current March-end deadline. The scheme allows a tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans for self-occupied houses in this segment.

The PMAY, implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was launched in June 2015 and addresses the urban housing shortage among the low-income groups, including slum dwellers. It aims to provide brick and mortar houses to all eligible urban households by 2022.

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is also likely to get a higher allocation for the next fiscal. This scheme, which aims at ensuring robust sewage networks, water supply and other infrastructure to improve the quality of life in urban areas, was allocated Rs 7,300 crore in the current year ending March 31.

To expedite stalled housing projects, the provisions for Special Window for Funding Stalled Affordable and Middle-Income Housing Projects (SWAMIH) scheme are likely to be made easier. The scheme was launched in November 2019 and aims to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stalled housing projects falling under the affordable and middle-income housing categories.

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