Govt plans interest subsidy for low-income housing loans:Naidu

The government plans to offer interest subsidy on housing loans to help poor section buy homes and boost real estate demand.

Addressing the realtors' body CREDAI conclave, Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu said the Real Estate Development and Regulation Bill would soon come up in the Cabinet for approval and hoped that at least by the Budget session, the proposed law would become a reality.

"We are coming out with an interest subvention scheme for the housing sector for the economically weaker section (EWS) and lower income group (LIG) people and also partly to lower middle class people," Naidu, who also holds the portfolio of Urban Development, said on the sidelines of an event.

He said the government is moving towards reduction in interest rates, which are difficult to manage currently.

Asked about timeline, the Minister said when the new housing policy will be launched, the interest subvention scheme will be a part of it.

According to government estimate, the housing shortage was 18.78 million units in 2012, out of which 95 per cent was in EWS/LIG category.

Real estate sector is facing a huge slowdown in demand due to high interest rate regime and skyrocketing property rates.

Responding to realtors' demand for single-window approval, he said the procedures for getting the approvals, particularly related to environment and aviation clearances, would be simplified and fast-tracked.

On the Real estate regulatory bill, Naidu said it is at the "final stage of consultation".

"I have gone through it personally. We have taken the views of various stakeholders including real estate sector. Then we will go to the Cabinet shortly.

Once the cabinet approves, I am hoping we will get early clearance, then we will go to the Parliament.

"If not this session, at least by the budget session the Real Estate Development and Regulation Bill will be a reality," Naidu said.

"There will be no strangulation, only regulation. It will be a people friendly and construction sector friendly bill. In a democracy, regulation is required," Naidu said, adding that the state governments would get the freedom to frame rules under the Act, when it is passed by the Parliament.

The Real Estate regulatory bill, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha in August last year, seeks to protect home buyers from unscrupulous developers. In February this year, the Standing Committee submitted its report.

The Bill provides for mandatory registration of all projects, besides mandatory disclosure of information like details of promoters, layout plan, land status, schedule of execution, status of various approvals and carpet area.

The Bill seeks to enforce the contract between the developer and buyer and provides for quick remedial measures in case of disputes.