What housing boom? 2.45 lakh houses lying vacant in India

During his election rallies, Prime Minister Modi had promised people that everyone would have a house to live in, under the project “Housing for All” which was targeted to be completed by 2022. Soon enough, his government moved in to fulfil the promise, but the 2.45 lakh constructed houses that are lying vacant all over India stand mocking both the PM and his promise.

Out of the top 5 states that house constructed but vacant low-cost houses, we have Modi's home state Gujarat, along with BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, as well as Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

These low-cost houses were constructed under different urban housing schemes and were sanctioned under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). As per the latest statistics of the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation, 14 lakh low-cost houses were sanctioned under these two major schemes, out of which only 8 lakh were built. Of this 8 lakh houses, 2.45 lakh houses are still to find residents.

Both the housing schemes were merged to launch the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana under which, the government aims to build 2 crore low-cost houses, including 14 lakh for slum redevelopment dwellings.

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