Norms related to EWS relaxed for builders

Tribune News Service

Solan, November 25

Builders operating on an area of over 40 bighas in the state will now have to construct only 10 per cent of the flats for the economically weaker sections (EWS) against the earlier stipulation of 25 per cent.

This amendment was recently introduced by the Town and Country Planning Department after a section of builders pleaded that the higher cost of construction had made it difficult for them to meet the 25 per cent stipulation.

This norm was initially as low as 8 per cent but had later been increased to 15 per cent and then to 25 per cent as per the Union Government’s directive which aimed at providing low cost housing to the EWS of the society.

This reduction in the norm would, however, affect the Union Government’s move to provide affordable housing to the EWS which has been endeavouring to provide low cost housing to all by 2022.

With little monitoring on the builders who are supposed to abide by this norm, it was known that barely 133 units have been constructed under the EWS category by the 324 builders who are registered in the state.

It was also observed that the high cost of houses constructed under the EWS failed to draw adequate buyers thus giving builder a free hand to bypass this norm.

As per the norms, a builder was supposed to issue at least two advertisements in leading dailies about such houses before claiming that he could find no buyers, but the norm failed to work in favour of the weaker sections owing to the high cost.

While the Union Government has been planning to introduce measures like interest subvention that will meet part of the buyer’s home loan burden to make available affordable housing, this relaxation will only benefit the builders who had little interest to make available low cost flats for the EWS.

State Town Planner Sandeep Sharma confirmed that the builders operating on an area of more than 40 bighas would have to construct only 10 per cent units for the EWS against the earlier stipulation of 25 per cent.