Can a house in Goa be built in Rs 2 lakh?

Margao: The recent announcement of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme has left many people wondering whether the scheme is in tune with the ground reality of Goa. Under the scheme, a family whose earnings are less the Rs 3 lakhs per annum can avail the financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakhs for new construction and up to Rs 1.5 lakh for enhancement of existing houses.

Piedade Noronha, a contractor from Fatorda who also heads a Scheduled Tribe association slammed the government for being out of touch with reality. “The government themselves should first construct a house of Rs 2 lakhs in Goa and show us. They spend Rs 3 Crores just to construct a toilet in Old Goa. How do they expect poor people to build a house using RS 3 lakhs”.

An Engineer from a real estate firm, who didn’t want to be named, informed that the RS 2 lakh amount is sufficient in rural parts of UP and other States where labour and materials used are cheap. “In UP they can use a single layer of mud bricks since it doesn't rain too much. Even if we in Goa use 2 layers of mud bricks, the wall will get soaked. Our walls and roof have to be able to withstand the heavy rainfall which is why it costs at least 5 lakhs for a 50 sqmt house”, he said.

He explained that each room has to be 12 sq mts under TCP construction rules. “If four rooms are constructed of 50 sq mts which includes a hall, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom and you assume the bare construction cost per square meter including plaster wiring and plumbing as Rs 10,000 per sqmt, the total cost excluding the cost of taking permissions is Rs 5 lakhs”, he explained. Piedade Noronha said that in other states, labour cost is covered under MNREGA. In Goa, nobody accepts the low wages under MNREGA scheme. “The Goa Government has to enhance this scheme to at least Rs 5 lakhs, otherwise in the monsoon, these houses will be washed away.”

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is implementing the Scheme “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All (Urban)” which provides financial assistance to the beneficiaries under various Verticals.