Parliament Question: Decline in Supply of New Housing Units

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3313 TO BE ANSWERED ON MARCH 12, 2026 DECLINE IN SUPPLY OF NEW HOUSING UNITS NO. 3313. SHRI SASIKANTH SENTHIL: Will the Minister of HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Union Government is aware of reports indicating a decline in the supply of new housing units priced below Rupees One crore in major metropolitan cities including Chennai in Tamil Nadu and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Union Government has assessed the impact of rising land costs, reduction in average unit sizes and a shift towards higher-priced housing on housing affordability in urban areas and if so, the findings thereof; and (c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Union Government under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — Urban (PMAY-U) to increase the supply of affordable housing and address affordability concerns in metropolitan cities? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (c): ‘Land’ and ‘Colonization’ are State subjects as per Entry 18 of List – II of the Seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) does not maintain the data relating to sale of houses and their value and trends in housing. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs supplements the efforts of States/UTs, by providing Central Assistance for pucca houses to eligible urban beneficiaries across the country under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) since 25.06.2015. Based on the learnings from the experiences of implementation of PMAY- U, MoHUA has revamped the scheme and launched PMAY-U 2.0 'Housing for All' Mission with effect from 01.09.2024 for implementation in urban areas across the country to construct, purchase and rent a house by eligible beneficiaries at affordable cost, for 1 crore additional eligible beneficiaries through four verticals i.e., Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) and Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS). …2/--2- As per the scheme guidelines of PMAY-U 2.0, the fund required for purchase/construction of houses under the scheme is shared between the Central Government, State/UT Government/ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) / Implementing agencies and the beneficiaries. States share has been defined and made mandatory with flexibility to the State(s) to increase their share to ensure affordability of houses to the prospective beneficiaries. To support affordable housing, Central Government has taken various steps such as reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) on under- construction Affordable Housing project from 8% to 1% without Input Tax Credit (ITC) and Infrastructure status to Affordable Housing by including it in Harmonised List of Infrastructure. Further, GST on cement has also been reduced in 2025 from 28% to 18%, which is one of the major construction materials and its lower prices will help in reducing the construction costs and make housing more affordable. Further, Government of India has restructured Credit Risk Guarantee Fund Trust for Low Income Housing (CRGFTLIH) for EWS/LIG to enhance the credit accessibility and worthiness of eligible households by extending the guarantee on the housing loan taken from Scheduled Commercial Banks, Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) etc. thereby making the houses affordable. In addition, special Home Loan Products are developed by Department of Financial Services (DFS) with Banks to help beneficiaries of informal sectors. States/UTs are also expected to facilitate home loan to PMAY-U 2.0 beneficiaries through tripartite agreement. A committee was constituted by NITI Aayog in May 2025 to prepare a detailed approach paper proposing a comprehensive framework to promote and enable affordable housing and has given its report in December 2025 namely ‘A Comprehensive Framework to Promote Affordable Housing’. The recommendations inter alia include certain tax exemptions and fiscal incentives. The report may be seen on the website of NITI Aayog at: https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2026- 01/A_Comprehensive_Framework_to_Promote_Affordable_Housing.pdf. The recommendations of the Committee have been shared with Ministries / Departments of the Government / States and UTs/ various other stakeholders for necessary action. The Ministry conducts regular review with the States/UTs on progress of the scheme including timely release of Central Assistance and its utilization along with ensuring completion of all the sanctioned houses within scheme period and stipulated timeline. ****