81 stalled housing projects approved for funding under special window

They will collectively be able to complete 60,000 houses with Rs 8,767 cr investment

A special funding window has approved an investment of Rs 8,676 crore for 81 stuck housing projects, in a move that will enable the completion of almost 60,000 homes.

Additionally, the window is actively evaluating options to provide relief to 15,000 homebuyers in certain stalled projects which are pending before the Supreme Court for resolution.

The figures were disclosed during the review of the Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH) by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday. 

These projects are spread across a mix of markets including large cities such as the National Capital Region, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and also Tier 2 locations including Karnal, Panipat, Lucknow, Surat, Dehradun, Kota, Nagpur, Jaipur, Nashik, Vizag, Chandigarh. 

Amongst these projects, investments in 18 projects have been given final clearance and disbursement is at various stages across seven residential projects.

Applications from 353 stressed projects are under examination for provision of assistance.

It was also highlighted during the meeting that activation of these construction sites by the special window would provide employment opportunities for various skilled and semi-skilled labourers

The Cabinet had last year cleared a proposal to set up a ‘special window’ in the form of AIF to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stalled housing projects. SBICAP Ventures was the investment manager to the first AIF set-up under this special window.

The recent initiative by the Fund to reduce the cost of capital to 12 per cent has resulted in an increase in the number of projects that meet the funding criteria laid out under the Special Window. 

Sitharaman suggested that both private and public sector banks, NBFCs and HFCs should see the Special Window as a stakeholder and increase support early completion of stressed projects.

Approved projects

• NCR -- 26
• Mumbai -- 27
• Bengaluru -- 10
• Chennai -- 3
• Pune -- 7

Remaining in areas such as Karnal, Chandigarh, Panipat, Lucknow, Surat, Dehradun, Kota, Jaipur.