Carpet Area Under Urban Housing Scheme Raised By 33%

The government has approved a 33 percent increase in carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under its affordable housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) to attract more beneficiaries, the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry said.

The carpet area of a house has been enhanced to 160 square meters from 120 square meters for Middle Income Group-I (MIG-I), while it has been increased to 200 square meters from 150 square meters in case of MIG II. The new rules will be effective from January 1, 2017, the date on which the scheme became operational, the ministry said in a release.

Under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), each beneficiary can avail subsidy up to Rs 2.35 lakh on purchase of a house under the scheme.

Under MIG-I, 4 percent interest subsidy is available on loan up to Rs 9 lakh for people with an annual income between Rs 6-12 lakh, while 3 percent interest subsidy is given on loan up to Rs 12 lakh to people with income between Rs 12-18 lakh per annum.

The enhancements will now enable more MIG customers to qualify for subsidy and avail the benefits provided under the ambitious flagship mission of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), the release said.

Apart from increasing the number of beneficiaries, the enhancement in carpet area will increase the construction activity and will give a push to housing sector, it added. As of June 11, an amount of Rs 736 crore has been disbursed to 35,204 beneficiaries belonging to the MIG category, the ministry said.

The decision to increase the carpet area for MIG section was done after inputs from various stakeholders, it added.