Rajasthan drafts incentives to boost affordable housing for low-income groups
Proposed changes to the Mukhyamantri Jan Awas Yojana include fee waivers and increased buildable area for private developers.
The Rajasthan government has drafted amendments to the Mukhyamantri Jan Awas Yojana to encourage private developers to build more housing for lower-income groups (LIG) and economically weaker sections (EWS). According to Urban Acres, the proposal includes extra construction area and fee exemptions to improve the financial viability of these projects.
Under the draft rules, EWS and LIG housing could be granted an additional 1.0 buildable area ratio (BAR). Individual residential projects might also receive an extra BAR between 0.75 and 2.0, based on the height of the building. The state is also proposing a 100 per cent exemption from various levies, such as land conversion charges.
To ensure residents have access to basic services, the draft limits how far affordable units can be from the main project. In cities with over 10 lakh people, units must be within 5 km of the principal project. For cities with populations between 1 lakh and 10 lakh, the limit is 3 km, while towns with fewer than 1 lakh residents would have a 2 km limit.
The proposal also suggests increasing the minimum plot size for such developments from 5,000 square metres to more than 10,000 square metres. A town planner noted that these changes aim to fix issues like stalled construction and delays in the current scheme.
A senior official from the urban development and housing department said the proposals will be discussed before a formal notification is issued. The final provisions and implementation date will be confirmed once the government completes the discussion process.