NEW DELHI: The misleading buzz phrase in realty hard sell in NCR is Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The reality is that builders in Ghaziabad and Noida, faced with huge unsold inventories, are misusing the housing scheme by advertising projects named after it.
The Modi government’s flagship housing drive hogged the limelight on December 31 when the PM announced the lowering of the interest rate for home loans up to `12 lakh. Unscrupulous builders in parts of NCR immediately started to illegally advertise their projects in bold letters, thus confusing buyers. The union urban development ministry and ministry of housing have taken notice. “We have come to know about the advertisements. The authorities have been asked to investigate and take action,” said a housing ministry official.
Private builders will be prevented from selling their flats under false pretences. “The ministry will issue an advisory seeking to stop such misleading advertisements,” he added.
He denied the existence of any PMAY project in Noida and Ghaziabad. “Under this scheme, the district magistrate sends a proposal to the Centre. A housing ministry panel looks into each one. Project work can start only after its approval,” added the official.
The UP administration was the first to send a proposal for the construction of affordable houses under PMAY to the ministry in December 2016. “The first one was for the construction of 11,000 houses in 34 towns of UP. It was approved before the poll schedule was announced and Noida and Ghaziabad does not figure in the list,” added the official.
Moreover, as per ministry guidelines, the yojana covers houses smaller in area than 60sqm. Modi launched the PMAY in June 2015 to provide affordable housing for all by constructing
20 million units by 2022.