Union Budget 2024: Is there any hope for the common man who dreams of a house?

Third Modi Ministry’s maiden budget with emphasis on housing sector

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that three crore houses will be allotted in urban and rural areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.  10 lakh crores will be invested under the second phase of PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) for the poor and middle class people living in urban areas. It has been announced that 2.2 lakh crore rupees will be the central share. One crore families will be beneficiaries of this.

                The first phase of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban was launched in 2015. The project was started with the aim of Construction of houses with basic facilities for the deserving. The finance minister has announced that there will be a continuation of this when it is about to end of the first phase in December this year. 80,671 crore was earmarked for the project in the interim budget presented in February. In the last 10 years, 4.21 houses have been completed under the scheme. Experts also believe that the project is crucial for providing affordable houses for common people and for sustainable urban development.

                The budget also envisages provision of interest subsidy to provide loans at affordable rates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this in his Independence Day speech last year. Apart from this, the Finance Minister said in the budget presentation that policies and regulations will be implemented to ensure efficiency, transparency and availability in the rental housing market.

                The Finance Minister has also made announcements regarding the Suryaghar Mufti BG Yojana, which is a scheme to install roof top solar panels to provide free electricity consumption of up to 300 units per month to one crore households. 7327 crores have been earmarked for solar projects in the budget.

                The Finance Minister said that financial assistance will be provided for the completion of land related reforms and related measures in villages and cities within the next three years. These reforms will include land administration, planning and management, urban planning and building bylaws. Activities related to rural land include allotment of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar for all land, establishment of land registry and linking.