The Prime Minister's housing scheme will come with a catch.
If you want to avail tax benefits in the Prime Minister's housing scheme, then submission of Aadhaar card is mandatory. Besides, the flats acquired under this scheme cannot be sold for the next ten years from the date possession.
Made primarily for the financially weaker section, the said scheme is financed by both central and state governments.
"The state government will identify the land for construction of houses at nominal rates to the government and semi government agencies. The state cabinet has already approved the proposal giving concession in stamp duty and registration of such lands," said a senior housing department official.
Housing minister Prakash Mehta said that the state is committed to construct affordable houses under the Prime Minister's housing scheme. "The revenue department has identified over 400 hectares of land across Maharashtra. Soon, the handing over process will start. We want to give the houses under this scheme to persons who do not own any other house in India. Therefore, we have decided to use the biometric system so that no one can misuse it," said Mehta.
As per the government circular, submission of Aadhaar is also must. "Genuine people should be benefited. Otherwise, the government schemes are always misused and manipulated. Besides, a beneficiary under this scheme will not be allowed to sell the house for the next ten years. This clause will stop trading of such houses," said the official adding that they want to implement this scheme effectively.
"The Centre is very serious about this scheme. However, we are not getting the expected help from the revenue department which is the custodian of barren land across the state. We are still waiting for the list of locations where affordable houses can be constructed. We need to pull our socks if we really want to show results. Otherwise, such good scheme remains on the paper only," said a senior official from housing department requesting anonymity.
Anand Gupta, president of the Builders Association of India, said that the government do announce big plans but when it comes to execution, it falters.
"Under Prime Minister's housing scheme, most of the houses will be below Rs10 lakh. In Mumbai, you cannot even get a house in the slums with this amount. It shows that there is a mismatch between government planning and ground reality. However, the government can effectively implement this scheme in the rural areas where the cost of land is cheaper," Gupta said.
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