Affordable housing still a distant dream in Punjab

Vijay C Roy
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 21

To own a house in Punjab by an urban poor is still a distant dream under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). According to data, only 3,007 applicants out of 79,268 applications were sanctioned loans by the banks under the Centre’s ambitious scheme.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, the PMAY aims to ensure “Housing for all by 2022” by providing financial assistance and institutional credit flow to the housing needs of urban poor. The credit-linked subsidy is available for loan amount up to Rs 6 lakh and additional loans beyond Rs 6 lakh at a non-subsidised rate. Under the scheme, interest subsidy is provided to the beneficiaries of the scheme. However, the delay in sanctioning loan is diluting the entire essence of the scheme.

“The Department of Local bodies, Punjab, had provided district- wise list of 79,268 applicants drawn from PMAY portal which were shown pending with different banks. The list was forwarded to the Lead District Managers (LDM) concerned for submitting their present status. At present, 51,762 applications are pending with various banks,” said a senior banker. The issue was discussed at the recently held State Level Bankers Committee meet.

Out of total applications received, 24,499 applications were rejected for not fulfilling eligibility criteria and other terms. Only 3,007 applications were approved to avail loan under interest subsidy.

Bankers complained that the banks don’t have access to PMAY portal and that is why exact data can’t be ascertained. Only the Local Bodies Department of the state has an access to PMAY data. “Housing is on top priority on the banks’ lending list, so the pendency reflected by the Local Bodies Department may not hold true. Secondly, cases forwarded by the Local Bodies Department and approved by the banks for loans are not uploaded on the PMAY portal. This may also be one of the reasons behind large number of pending applications shown,” said a banker working with a public sector bank. 

In the SLBC meeting, Anirudh Tewari, Principal Secretary (Finance), Punjab, asked the bankers to expedite the process so that urban poor living across different cities of the state could derive the benefits of the scheme. 

Perturbed over a huge number of pendency, bankers in the state have called for a special meeting by next week to clear the backlog.

The four components of the scheme include a credit-linked subsidy, in-situ development of slums, 35% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) and an opportunity to build individual houses. Under the mission, beneficiaries can take advantage under one component only. Under the scheme, beneficiaries of EWS and low-income group (LIG) can avail subsidy up to Rs 2.67 lakh for a loan amount of Rs 6 lakh.

To give fillip to the scheme, the government is also mulling options to allow greater access to institutional finance to the poor and relaxation in eligibility criteria for loans.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (FY19)

• Applications received: 79,268
• Sanctioned: 3,007
• Rejected: 24,499
• Pending: 51,762