Prez lauds govt's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

President Ram Nath Kovind Thursday praised the government's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), saying no family in the country would remain homeless when the nation celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Independence.

Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament, he said buying or building a house in cities has become "easier" for the common person.

Dream of building one's own home had become difficult for a common person due to black money and rising costs, Kovind said.

He said in the last four-and-a-half years, 1.3 crore homes have been constructed under rural housing schemes of the government while in the five years preceding 2014, only 25 lakh houses had been constructed.

"When my government set a target that by 2022 when the nation celebrates 75th anniversary of its Independence, no family would remain homeless, many wondered how this would be possible," he said in his address.

While completing the houses under the earlier scheme, the government has also fast-tracked construction of houses across cities and villages under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, in an unprecedented manner, President said.

He said that by enacting real estate RERA law, his government has ensured that construction of houses is completed and they are handed over to buyers as scheduled so that the hard earned money of people does not get stuck.

"After enactment of this law, about 35 thousand Real Estate Projects' have been registered where lakhs of houses are being constructed and handed over to families," he said.

The President also said that under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana', the government is also giving interest subsidy of 6.5 per cent to persons belonging to low income group. According to an estimate, an individual taking a home loan of Rs 20 lakh for 20 years, would get a benefit of about Rs 6 lakh," he added.