In his address at the National Real Estate Development Council’s (NAREDCO) 15thNational Convention, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the BJP-led NDA Government’s goal of creating ‘Housing for All’ would be achieved two years in advance, by 2020. He further emphasised that sanctions towards urban rejuvenation programmes have increased by six times that of the previous amount of Rs 1,500 billion. 

“The 2022 target of a pucca home with basic facilities in the name of the lady of every household in the country will be achieved two years in advance,” Puri affirmed. “To achieve this target, we need deep involvement of all stakeholders and I compliment NAREDCO for lending their support to the Government to make this dream project a reality in the times to come.” Additionally, he also shared that of the 100 smart cities announced, the Government will roll out 50 by December 2019. 

It is estimated that by 2030, over 600 million people will be living in cities. This is also the timeframe within which India needs to meet the UN agenda of Sustainable Development Goals. For his part, Puri expressed his confidence that the country would abide by these well before 2030. Further, he pointed out that RERA had removed many aberrations in the real-estate sector and had been accepted as a regulator by most shareholders.