Housing policy will revive real estate sector, says Arora

Chandigarh, February 22

The Punjab Affordable Housing Policy-2023, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, will fulfil the common man’s aspirations to own a dream house and will help in reviving the real estate sector, said Aman Arora, Housing and Urban Development Minister.

Introduced to provide affordable houses to the lower-middle and lower-income strata of society, the policy also takes note of demands of developers.

Arora said the minimum area for a plotted colony had been fixed at five acres, while the minimum area required for a group housing project was now 2.5 acres only.

However, for GMADA, the minimum area required for a new colony will remain 25 acres. The maximum plot size has been fixed up to 150 sq yard and maximum flat size has been fixed up to 90 sq metre under the policy.

The saleable area has also been increased from 62 to 65 per cent of the total project site to provide plots at affordable rates to the needy.

He further said the minimum area under green cover had been fixed at 7.5 per cent from 10 per cent of the site area.

The minimum width of internal roads will be 30 feet in such projects.

To reduce the burden on individual plot holders, the minister said the change of land use charges, external development charges and licence fee had been reduced to 50 per cent, or half, of those applicable in case of a normal colony. However, the reduction in charges will not be applicable in GMADA area.

To enable speedy clearance, Arora said all the powers for granting approvals had been delegated to the Chief Administrator of the urban development authority concerned at the local level.

Speedy Clearance

To enable speedy clearance, the minister said all the powers for granting approvals had been delegated to the Chief Administrator of the urban development authority concerned at the local level.