EWS quota in housing projects mandatory

To bridge the demand and supply gap in the low cost housing segment in urban areas, the state government has issued a notification making it mandatory for real estate developers to reserve dwelling units in housing projects for the economically weaker section (EWS) and low income group (LIG) category.

Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) has been mandated as the state level nodal agency for implementing the scheme under the Affordable Urban Housing policy, 2012.

The notification suggested that OSHB will earmark at least 60 per cent of the total built-up area (15 per cent each) for EWS, LIG, lower middle income group (LMIG) and middle income group (MIG) in all its housing schemes.

 

The policy proposes that developers of apartment buildings and group housing projects spread over a plot size exceeding 2000 square meters will earmark at least 15 per cent of their construction area for making dwelling units for EWS/LIG categories (with EWS units not less than 50 per cent).

It further reads that the developers will have the option of EWS and LIG housing at a location within the five kilometers of the project. However, such option is only available for projects occupying two acres of land or less. Alternatively, they can deposit an amount towards the Urban Poor Shelter Fund at a rate to be notified by the state government from time to time.

The new policy also proposes a host of relaxations for the developers in lieu of the reservations. The private developer will be compensated with additional FAR (floor area ratio) equivalent to the FAR utilised for EWS and LIG housing subject to a ceiling of 50 per cent of normal FAR for the reservations.

The income criteria laid for EWS under the scheme is up to Rs 7,500 per month (pm). For LIG category, the income eligibility ranges from Rs 7,501 to Rs 15,000 pm while for LMIG it is fixed between Rs 15,001 and Rs 20,000 pm. For MIG applicants, their monthly income must be between Rs 20,001 and Rs 25,000.

In the first phase, the maiden scheme will cover Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Kalinganagar, Anugul, Balasore and Paradeep.

However, other urban local bodies are free to operate the scheme after obtaining approval from the state government.

The EWS beneficiaries will be identified by the urban local bodies (ULBs) on the basis of National Population Record data and socio-economic census survey 2012. EWS/LIG houses will be allotted in the name of women beneficiaries or jointly in the name of the women beneficiary and a male member of the family.

The state government in this policy has also formulated specific guidelines for developing rental housing blocks for the migrants for which the land will be provided to the ULB by the state government.