Developed India goal: House panel seeks housing, urban affairs vision document

The Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs called for an increase in the central assistance to reflect the increased construction costs for flagship housing scheme

A parliamentary standing committee has asked the housing and urban affairs ministry to prepare a broad vision document and an investment plan for the next 22 years to achieve the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047.

The report was tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday. (ANI)

In a report tabled in both the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs called for an increase in the central assistance to reflect the increased construction costs for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0, the flagship housing scheme. The committee sought a review of the ministry’s stance on keeping the scheme guidelines unchanged so that economically weaker households, especially those with annual income up to ₹3 lakh, can benefit.

Telugu Desam Party lawmaker Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy-led panel noted that detailed guidelines for the ₹2,500 crore Scheme for Industrial Housing and the ₹10,000 crore Urban Challenge Fund announced in the budget in February have not been finalised yet.

The committee questioned the one-size-fits-all approach of financial assistance for the Prime Minister’s e-Bus Sewa scheme, given the varying financial capacity of different urban local bodies within and across states.

The panel first suggested a vision document in March 2025, a month after the Union budget. In its latest report, it said individual schemes cannot serve as a road map. Departments of central, state, and urban local governments can work in synergy by leveraging budgetary and extra budgetary resources towards the goal as per a road map, the committee said.

The panel called for aligning budgetary allocations with a broader vision of “Viksit Bharat (developed India)”, broken down to five-year investment targets. It urged the ministry to conduct consultations and finalise the scheme before budget announcements to prevent approval of schemes from spilling to subsequent years.

In March, the committee raised concerns over the ministry utilising only half of the budgeted funds of FY 2024-25 by January, even as the finance minister made urban development the fifth of nine priorities.

By 2047, about 50% of India’s population will reside in urban areas, and their contribution to GDP will be approximately 80%, noted the parliamentary committee.