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Government

Nearly Half of PMAY-Urban Homes Remain Vacant Despite Completion: Report

Launched in 2015 with an initial deadline of 2022, the mission has been extended to December 31, 2024, to ensure completion of the 122.69 lakh sanctioned housing units.

Nearly Half of PMAY-Urban Homes Remain Vacant Despite Completion: Report

Representative image. Source: X/@PMAY_MP

A recent submission by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs revealed that almost half of the affordable housing units constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) remain unoccupied.

Launched in 2015 with an initial deadline of 2022, the mission has been extended to December 31, 2024, to ensure completion of the 122.69 lakh sanctioned housing units.

A report in The Indian Express highlighted that, as of now, 88.32 lakh houses have been completed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). The scheme functions through four main verticals: beneficiary-led construction, in-situ slum redevelopment (ISSR), affordable housing in partnership (AHP), and a credit-linked subsidy scheme.

Under the AHP vertical, private builders were incentivized to construct housing for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) within their projects. Of the 15.65 lakh sanctioned houses, 9.01 lakh have been completed.

However, only 54% (4.89 lakh) are occupied, leaving 46% (4.12 lakh) vacant. Similarly, the ISSR vertical, which aims to rehabilitate slum dwellers by constructing housing near or on slum areas, has seen 67,806 of the 1.84 lakh sanctioned units completed. Alarmingly, 70% (47,510) of these units remain unoccupied.

Reasons for Unoccupancy

In a written response to the committee, the ministry cited multiple reasons for the unoccupied housing, including incomplete infrastructure, delays in allotment, and unwillingness of beneficiaries to move in.

Out of the 9.69 lakh completed units under AHP and ISSR, about 5.1 lakh have been occupied, while the rest are in the process of allocation.

The ministry said that according to PMAY-U guidelines, state and Union Territory (UT) governments are responsible for providing trunk infrastructure, which includes essential facilities that make houses liveable.

States like Telangana, which has a significant number of unoccupied units, have faced challenges in finalizing beneficiary allotments and providing the necessary infrastructure.

The standing committee, chaired by Telugu Desam Party MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, have urged the ministry to take a more proactive role in resolving bottlenecks.

“While appreciating the fact that as per PMAY-U guidelines, the trunk infrastructure is to be provided by respective State/UT Governments from their own resources, the Committee are of the opinion that unoccupancy of completed houses for whatsoever reason will defeat the very purpose of the Mission,” the committee stated, reported the newspaper.

It called on the ministry to monitor progress closely, address construction and allotment challenges, and ensure coordination between central and state authorities to facilitate timely occupation by beneficiaries.

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