Govt. policies on housing needs to be revamped

By agencies   |   Monday, 07 August 2006, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
NEW DELHI: State-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has finally felt that government policies, if overhauled, would ease all housing related problems. HUDCO CMD, P S Rana said, “The policies need to be fine-tuned to make rental housing attractive and the focus should be on safety, liquidity and reasonable return”. Rana suggested that sale and purchase of houses and flats should be made as simple as the sale of cars. He also recommended tax-exemption from house-rent so that owners could freely let out their dwelling units on rent. “To ensure that a tenant does not forcefully occupy the rented house, handling over the premises on an agreed date should be made mandatory, thereby removing all apprehensions from the minds of the house-owner,” he added. As enduring measures, entire investment in housing should be allowed to be deducted from taxable income. In order to encourage real estate activities, source of funds invested in house construction on the pattern of Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) should not be asked for, he said. The HUDCO chief has declared that if these suggestions were implemented, slums would become a thing of the past and additional employment could also be generated in the housing activities. There are about 249 million houses in the country of which nearly 16million are lying vacant. If the vacant units are made available to the people, the shortage that the country is facing could be dealt with.