Allotted govt scheme flat in Maharashtra? You won’t be eligible to apply again

The Maharashtra government is working on a policy to cap allotment of houses under government schemes to one. The policy, which is under preparation, aims to curb

The Maharashtra government is working on a policy to cap allotment of houses under government schemes to one. The policy, which is under preparation, aims to curb people from reaping benefits of affordable housing schemes more than once.

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Once the policy is formalised, if an applicant has been allotted a house under any government, whether Central or state, he/she will not be able to apply for any subsequent housing project of the government in the state.

State housing department secretary Sanjay Kumar confirmed the policy is being prepared by his department.

“We are considering a policy where if an individual has got a house, he or she cannot apply for a house in any other government scheme. Why should the same person, who has already taken the benefit of a government programme, get it twice? One can’t keep on getting more than one house under subsidy. A separate policy is being prepared; we will have to get a cabinet nod for the policy,” Kumar said.

A senior housing department official said they plan to use the Aadhaar numbers given by applicants when they apply for subsidised housing schemes to ensure they are not allotted houses more than once.

Currently, there is no policy or any restriction on an applicant over applying for an affordable housing project of the government. A homebuyer, who already has a house in Pune, for instance, can apply for another house in Mumbai under a government scheme.

According to Kumar, the policy will be applicable to the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), for projects of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), etc, which provide affordable homes in Mumbai and other cities under the economically-weaker section and lower-, middle-and higher-income groups.

The housing department official said the government wants to keep out applicants who want to reap the benefits of the subsidised government schemes for financial gains. With the push for ‘Housing for All’ under PMAY, the state government has already sanctioned construction of 11.40 lakh houses under the scheme. Other state agencies, Mhada and Cidco also provide houses, which are allotted through lotteries each year.

“With the construction of such a large affordable housing stock (under PMAY as well as by Mhada and Cidco), which will happen over the next five years, the state government intends to keep profiteers out. Mechanisms are being thought about on how to keep out applicants who have already availed a government scheme,” the official said.