Real estate housing may get Industry status.....

Housing may get industry or infrastructure statusTNN | Dec 13, 2012, 02.40AM IST
PUNE: The state government has 'in principle' supported the recommendation by a technical group to make housing a part of infrastructure or declare it as an industry.

The 'technical group on estimation of urban housing shortage' of the country for the 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-17) has recently submitted its final report to the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.

"The state government in principle has supported the suggestion. The final decision will soon conveyed to the central governmentIf housing becomes part of infrastructure or treated as industry, it will change the dynamics of urban development," said a state government official.

If housing becomes an industry, the rules and regulations would change; and if it is put under the infrastructure category, more central and state funds could flow to civic bodies.

According to the technical group, the total housing shortage estimated at the beginning of the 12th Five-Year Plan period is 18.78 million. Out of that, 10.55 million is in the economically weaker section (EWS) category and 7.41 million is in the low income group (LIG) category.

In Pune, the mid-city area, comprising 17 'peths' and surrounding areas, spanning over 147.85 sq km, is facing a shortage of 658,975 houses. To accommodate the burgeoning population, the municipal corporation will have to facilitate construction of over 30,000 affordable houses in the coming years. Failure to do so will result in rise of slums.

The new Development Plan (DP) for the old city areas has highlighted the need for affordable housing in the heart of the city.

According to the housing survey incorporated in the DP, in the 17 'peths' and six sectors that the city has been divided into, the requirement of the EWS is around 290,873 houses (that is 44.14% of the total housing requirements). The low income group requires 132,022 houses (20.03%), middle income group requires 172,977 houses (26.24%) and the higher income group needs 63,103 houses (9.58%).