Mumbai, where Kumar lives, has become the country’s most expensive city for housing. Indians have long flocked to the commercial hub for work opportunities, leading to a booming population of more than 21 million people.
Purchasing a home has now become out of reach for many citizens there who earn an average of US$650 a month.
According to property firm Square Yards, average home prices in Mumbai rose 10 per cent on the year in the second quarter of 2024, hitting about US$112,000.
Analysts said this has forced millions of residents like Kumar to live in squalid slums.
GOVT INVESTING NEARLY US$120B
Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to create thousands of low-cost homes for Mumbai residents as part of efforts to provide more affordable housing in major cities.
However, developments have been hit by rising costs and
limited land.
Over the next five years, the government intends to invest almost US$120 billion to address the housing needs of 10 million poor and middle-class families.
The ambitious initiative is an expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme in 2015, a credit-linked subsidy scheme which aimed to provide “pucca” houses – permanent, well-constructed homes – to all city dwellers by March 2022. That target was not met.
“The issue is because the scheme requires both central and state participation,” said Ajay Sharma, managing director of real estate agency Colliers India’s valuation services team.
“If you look at the total investment committed and the total released amount or sanctioned amount, you’ll see that the central government has actually done its bit, but the states are lagging,” he added.
Source: CNA
