An analysis conducted by the industry body Assocham said housing remains a dream for the middle and lower middle class people as the present National Housing Policy that recommends reservation of 15 per cent of the land area in all new housing projects, is hardly executed.

Encouraging integrated townships and special economic zones ( SEZs), the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy called for reservation of 10- 15 per cent land in every new public and private housing projects or 20- 25 per cent floor area ratio ( FAR), whichever is greater to for EWS and LIG housing through appropriate spatial incentives.

States such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have been active on the issue. But implementation within the new projects is still a hurdle.

Assocham said in its statement recently that affordable housing for lower middle class should be within the range, not exceeding Rs 6- 7 lakh and that of middle class, the affordable housing be within the cost of Rs15 lakh. It added affordable housing for middle and lower middle class is possible provided 35 per cent of land area in all new housing projects is reserved for the group.

But the developer lobby seems to be in a denial mode over the increase in the reservation limit. A Delhi- based well- known developer, who requested anonymity, said, " On practical grounds, such reservations are not possible. It would decrease developer's profit margins and would also affect saleability." Lending to the group remains one of the major problems in the country. To some extent, increased reservation might lead to the problem of repayment of loans. The loan disbursement amount will rise with increased applicants.

Source: Mail Today By Devesh Chandra Srivastava Developers ignore poors' realty quota