US$2 trillion of investments needed to meet the housing needs for the urban poor
KPMG released a report at a real estate-banking conclave organized by the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) in Mumbai on Wednesday. It came up with some data which might work as an eye opener to the current government.
A fifth of the urban and rural households have very limited access to housing facilities, potable drinking water, sanitation and toilets. The country needs to build 30,000-35,000 units per day for the next eight years to meet the shortage of housing needs. A majority of these houses need to be in the affordable segment and the entire expense will be more than US$2 trillion.
The current housing shortage in urban areas is estimated at 19 million units. Of this, about 95.6% is estimated to be from economically weaker sections (EWS) and low income group (LIG) households, who cannot afford houses costing above Rs 15 lakh.
Unfortunately large-scale development of affordable housing projects is still a challenging proposition for many private developers. If the government does not take up measures to make budget housing schemes lucrative for the developers, then they will not invest into them to burn their fingers.
It is estimated that in the next eight years, India needs to invest more than Rs 125 trillion (USD2 trillion) at current prices to meet its housing needs.
Source- The Times of India (Mumbai Edition)
Affordable housing projects, economically weaker sections, Households, KPMG, large-scale development, Low-income group, Naredco, National Real Estate Development Council
