₹25,000 Cr Kitty To Salvage Stuck Housing Projects

4.58 lakh home buyers likely to benefit from war chest

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The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 25,000 crore fund to help complete over 1,600 stranded housing projects, in a major relief to home buyers who have been left in the lurch by unscrupulous builders despite having paid up huge amounts in advance for their flats.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while the government will contribute Rs 10,000 crore to the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) for real estate projects, the remaining Rs 15,000 crore will be provided by state insurer LIC and the country's largest bank SBI.

The AIF, which was first announced by Sitharaman on September 14, will act as a ``special window’’ to provide loans to over 1,600 incomplete affordable and middle-lower income housing projects. In all, 4.58 lakh housing units are being targeted for completion. The construction activity will also generate employment and revive demand for cement, iron and steel which will spur overall growth in the economy.