PUNE: Only 12.10 lakh urban dwelling units have been sanctioned in the state under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) as of Jan 2025 despite a central government target of 19.40 lakh houses across 409 cities in Maharashtra by 2022, according to the state economic survey released on Friday.
Of these, 2.04 lakh units have been completed and groundwork started for 3.78 lakh dwelling units for the economically weaker section (EWS).
This means only 10.51% of the targeted housing units have been completed nearly a decade after the scheme’s launch in the state in 2015.
The economic survey 2024-25 revealed a significant gap between housing targets and achievements under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) scheme in the state.
The survey also highlighted the launch of PMAY-U 2.0, which aims to provide financial assistance to one crore urban poor and middle-class families nationwide over the next five years starting from 2024-25. Under the new version, government assistance in beneficiary led construction (BLC) and affordable housing in partnership (AHP) verticals is Rs 2.50 lakh per unit, with a 60:40 centre-state sharing pattern.
“We are speeding up the construction and regular follow up is being taken,” said an official from the state housing department. The report also mentioned that MahaHousing, entrusted with constructing affordable mass housing projects under PMAY-U’s AHP vertical, has sanctioned 10 joint venture projects comprising 27,388 dwelling units for EWS and 4,521 units for low income group (LIG) beneficiaries.
However, only eight projects have commenced construction, covering 17,076 EWS and 3,902 LIG units. Strikingly, just 100 EWS dwelling units have been completed and handed over to the beneficiaries.
Housing experts pointed out various challenges slowing down implementation, including land acquisition hurdles, approval delays, funding constraints, and rising construction costs.
“The numbers indicate systemic issues in implementation that need immediate attention,” said an urban housing analyst. “With the extended timeline now approaching, there needs to be a significant acceleration in construction activities to meet even the sanctioned targets.”
The PMAY-U scheme, which promotes women empowerment by providing house ownership in female or joint names, is being implemented through four verticals — beneficiary led construction, affordable housing in partnership, In-situ slum redevelopment, and credit linked subsidy scheme. However, the survey does not clearly mention any such breakup.
With the introduction of PMAY-U 2.0, which includes a new affordable rental housing vertical and transforms credit-linked subsidy scheme into an interest subsidy scheme, housing advocates hope for improved implementation and faster delivery of affordable housing in urban Maharashtra.
