Haryana government has decided to revise its affordable housing policy to achieve the goal of Housing for All by 2022 and ensure that even old cities under the jurisdiction of urban local bodies are brought under its ambit.

This will lead to more people getting affordable homes closer to their workplace, urban local bodies minister Kavita Jain said in a statement.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the new affordable housing policy to make sure that the target of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urban) is met. The new policy seeks to provide reasonably priced units in older cities within the jurisdiction of urban local bodies, the statement said.

Even though there is an existing plan for setting up of sectors in urban areas by the Town and Country Planning Department, there is no such plan for old cities in urban areas, she said.

The 2013 policy was applicable only for residential sectors of urban areas and it was due to this reason that the urban local bodies department was called upon to formulate a new policy, she said.

She said the urban areas of the state had been divided into four zones. The municipal corporation (MC), Gurugram has been included in hyper-potential zone, MCs of Faridabad, Sonepat, Panipat, Panchkula and municipal committee, Sohna, in high potential zone, MCs of Karnal, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, municipal committee of Bahadurgarh, Bawal, Rewari, Palwal and Municipalities of Hodal, Dharuhera and Gannaur in medium potential zone and 13 other municipal committees and 49 municipality areas in low potential zone.

She said that under the affordable housing policy, the urban local bodies department would give approval for housing projects in old cities of urban areas, from half acre to two and a half acres and from two-and-a-half acres to five acres on the basis of 250 and 275 Floor Area Ratio respectively. She also pointed out that the applicable site ought to be at least nine meters on the road with a population density between 750 and 900 persons per acre and on six per cent area, business activities would be allowed to be conducted from 175 Floor Area Ratio.

She also said that under the policy, beneficiaries of PMAY (Urban) would be provided with houses under the 30 meters category on priority basis, the release added.

Source – Money Control