#RealtyNewsRoundUp: 1,200 Urban Poor Get Housing Loan Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector.

Under the credit-linked subsidy scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, housing loans to the tune of Rs 72.86 crore have been disbursed to 1,200 beneficiaries in 21 states. In a written reply to the Upper House, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Babul Supriyo said that under the scheme 6.5 per cent interest subsidy was given to urban beneficiaries belonging to the economically weaker section and low-income group on a loan of up to Rs 6 lakh for a tenure of 15 years. Read more

In a first-of-its-kind clean energy drive in the country, Chandigarh may soon make solar rooftop plants mandatory for all houses and buildings occupying plots larger than 100 square yards. The notification is likely to be issued this month. According to the proposal, houses up to 500 square yards will have the option to install either a 1 kW solar plant or a 100-litre solar heating system. It will be mandatory for larger houses to set up solar rooftops of 1 kW. A 1 kW solar plant generates 4-4.5 units of power in a day. Read more

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi recently assured the home buyers that his party was committed to a strong Real Estate Bill to protect their interests and would ask the government to bring it in Parliament at the earliest. In a series of tweets, he assured that he was fully committed to a strong Real Estate Bill. The Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill was introduced by the Congress in 2013. Read more

In a bid to address water scarcity, the civic administration in Navi Mumbai has asked residential societies to use treated water from sewage treatment plants (STP) for non-potable uses. Officials' estimates that residential societies could save approximately 10,000 litres of potable water by using treated water. Read more

Piramal Realty plans to spend Rs 16,000 crore over the next four years on executing projects and buying land. A top official of the group said the investment will be to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore, including Rs 22,000 crore by real estate investment vehicle Piramal Fund Management. International investors Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus had infused about $434 million in Piramal Realty last year. Read more