NEW DELHI: Aimed at boosting demand for affordable houses, the Union government on Thursday announced an extension of the deadline to apply for affordable housing Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) till March 2021. The earlier deadline had expired on March 31, 2020.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the second tranche of the Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package, aimed at lifting the economy from the virus impact.According to the government, the extension of deadline will lead to investments worth over Rs 70,000 crore in the housing sector, help in fulfilling the ambitious ‘Housing for All by 2022’ project, and create millions of jobs.
“So far, the scheme has benefited 3.3 lakh middle-class families whose annual income is in the range of Rs 6-18 lakh. Extending the scheme will benefit 2.5 lakh middle-income families during 2020-21,” Sitharaman said.
CLSS for the Middle Income Group was operationalised from May 2017, where eligible borrowers can avail home loans from banks and housing finance companies at a subsided interest rate.According to Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants, the extension will further aid many more families to avail housing under this scheme. “As a ripple effect of increased demand for affordable housing, it will positively push demand for raw materials like cement, steel, transport and other construction materials,” he said.
As per ANAROCK research, there are currently 15.62 lakh under construction units across the top seven cities in the country, of which nearly 39 per cent are in the affordable segment, priced below Rs 40 lakh.
“The Rs 70,000 crore boost to the housing sector and middle-income group through the extension of CLSS is a critically important move.
It eliminates the uncertainty surrounding the timelines for construction of 50 million new housing units by 2022 under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, of which 30 million units are likely to be set up in rural areas, and the rest in urban areas,” said Avneesh Sood, director of Eros Group.The Centre said it will also launch a scheme to build affordable rental housing complexes for migrant workers and urban poor.