NEW DELHI: In a major decision to boost affordable housing, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved the revision of the carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy. The carpet area for MIG I category houses has been raised from 120 square metre to 160 square metre while that of MIG II category houses has been increased from 150 square metre to 200 square metre.
The initiative is aimed at fast-track the slow-moving ‘Housing for All’ scheme. Officials said people from the middle income group (MIG) will get benefits due to this initiative of the ministry under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). These enhancements will now enable more people under MIG category to qualify for subsidy and avail the benefits provided under the flagship Mission of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
A senior official of the Ministry of Housing said the decision to increase the carpet area was taken after inputs from various stakeholders. “One of key issues was denial of CLSS benefits to potential beneficiaries, because they were buying/constructing flats or houses where the carpet area exceeded the limit, thus rendering them ineligible for the interest subsidy under MIG,” he added.
During review meetings by the Central Nodal Agencies—Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and National Housing Bank (NHB)—there had been requests for increasing the carpet areas specified for the MIG I and MIG II categories, added the official.
Apart from increasing the number of beneficiaries, the step is expected to improve the construction activity. Officials said it also augured well with the Reserve Bank of India policy to revise the housing loan limits for Priority Sector lending (PSL) eligibility where it has been decided to revise the housing loan limits for PSL eligibility from existing Rs 28 lakh to 35 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of 10 lakh and above), and from existing rs 20 lakh to 25 lakh in other centres, provided the overall cost of the dwelling units does not exceed Rs 45 lakh and 30 lakh, respectively.