Perceptions are that India’s real estate sector is witnessing a strong revival – after a long period of uncertainties and “muted growth”. Developers are reporting record sales and massive uptick in constructions across the urban landscape. Alongside, perceptions are also that the play of corrupt money in this sector is making homes unaffordable for the middle class, leave alone the poor who live in slum-like conditions. The role of black money is well-acknowledged in this sector, where sale deeds reflect only a fragment of the actual payments. A tiny flat in Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru could cost more than a crore, forcing the middle-income groups to rely on housing in the distant suburban areas. Several government initiatives in this sector over the past decades made only marginal impact and very few actually benefited from such schemes by housing boards etc. The unbridled play of private entities in this sector has been a real curse.
Ever since Independence, while the governments concentrated attention on several sectors, housing has not received the urgency it demanded. Population explosion further complicated the scenario. The PM Awas Yojana Urban Mission launched by the NDA government in 2015 – a year after Narendra Modi took charge – aimed at providing housing for all in urban areas in a space of seven years. The mission has only partly achieved its objective. A year ago, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledged the slow momentum and promised in the Budget that the housing needs of one crore eligible urban families would be addressed in the next five years. While there’s action in both urban and rural areas through different schemes, the overall scenario is progressively worsening, not improving. Governmental claims about helping the poor or the disadvantaged with free or subsidized houses formed only a part of the larger issue. Some 1.50 crore houses were constructed under the PM housing schemes between 2019 and 2024, as per official figures. Yet, many more of India’s population do not have a proper home. Affordable home for the middle class too remains a mirage.
The play of cartels in the private housing sector in major urban centres too is well-documented. Financial experts recently created a buzz in discussion circles by stating that nine families controlled some 20 percent of Mumbai’s property market. Citing the real estate sector as one of the “most corrupt” in the country, it has been observed that rich businessmen who possess black money see investment in the housing sector or purchase of gold as two main options to hide their wealth. So too with politicians who make big bucks from government deals and corrupt bureaucrats. Together, they jack up the apartment prices, even land prices, across the board, making the ordinary people pay through their noses to own a home or flat. The government is a silent spectator, irrespective of whether the UPA ran it or the NDA. Big talks serve little purpose. The chasm between promises and delivery is unbridgeable.