Cabinet approves creation of Rs 60,000 cr fund for urban housing scheme

The Union Cabinet today approved creation of a fund of Rs 60,000 crore to finance the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), a move Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said would "add momentum to the pace of the implementation" of the government's flagship scheme.
The National Urban Housing Fund (NUHF) will have provisioning of funds to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore over the next four years, the housing and urban affairs minister told reporters here.
He said the fund will established in the 'Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC)', an autonomous body under the housing and urban affairs ministry.

Under the PMAY(U), the housing and urban affairs ministry targets construction of about 1.2 crore houses for the urban poor.
The ministry has sanctioned 39.4 lakh houses under the scheme so far, Puri said, adding that by March, the number is expected to go up to 45 lakh.
The minister also exuded confidence that the government would be able to provide houses to all the urban poor before the target of 2022.

"The Cabinet having approved the NUHF provisioning for funds amounting to Rs 60,000 crore over a period of 4 years, there will be an added momentum to the pace of implementation," he said.

On an average, the ministry approves central assistance to between 2-3 lakh houses every month, he said.
A committee will be constituted in the ministry to be chaired by the Joint Secretary/Mission Director PMAY (Urban) to operationalise and monitor the NUHF.