How to gain from govt’s housing scheme

With the intention of achieving the target of building 19 lakh affordable houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) by 2022, the Maharashtra Government has cleared the proposal that allows Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to enter into joint ventures with private landowners under a public-private partnership model. Allowing private landowners to participate in PMAY is another step ahead in encouraging low cost housing for the urban poor.

ELIGIBILITY OF PRIVATE LANDOWNERS

The eligibility, as stated by MHADA is for a landowner to own a minimum of 5 acres of nonlitigated plots with clear title in MMR, CIDCO, MSRDC, NAINA, Pune, Nagpur and Nasik-aurangabad. However, the land would be rated by MHADA based on a 100 point merit system, where a landowner would need to obtain minimum 70 points to be eligible for the PPP.

These points would be allotted based on the existing social infrastructure (schools, hospitals), access to the site, topography, vicinity to public transport facilities etc. projects are also eligible for a floor space index (FSI) of 2.5. FSI represents the ratio of the buildable area to the total plot area and defines the extent of construction permissible on a plot.

CONCESSION FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPERS

As per another scheme, Developers willing to undertake EWS and LIG projects get incentives from various development authorities. Developers are entitled to receive a concession in development charges for projects built under this scheme. Sale price (most likely to be linked to RR rate) however, is to be determined by MHADA. Houses will be sold either on a first come first serve basis or through the MHADA lottery. Eligible customers can reap benefits of a maximum subsidy of Rs 2.5 lakhs which includes a subsidy of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh from the Central government and Rs 1 lakh subsidy from the state government. Stamp duty for these customers would be a flat Rs. 1,000.