New Delhi: NITI Aayog has released a major policy document titled “Comprehensive Framework to Promote and Enable Affordable Housing”, outlining structural reforms aimed at addressing persistent challenges in India’s urban housing sector. The report was unveiled during a high-level Round Table discussion attended by senior officials from Central Ministries, State Governments, and practitioners from the real estate and urban development sectors.
The deliberations were chaired by Rajiv Gauba, Member, NITI Aayog, and focused on key constraints impacting affordable housing delivery, including land availability, adequacy of housing stock, access to finance, and regulatory bottlenecks. The discussion underscored the need for coordinated Centre–State action, land enablement through zoning and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) reforms, innovative financing pathways, and promotion of rental housing models to ensure affordability for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) households.
Building on the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the framework proposes a set of actionable, reform-focused recommendations to strengthen the affordable housing ecosystem and support sustainable and inclusive urban development in line with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Public and Expert Reactions from LinkedIn
The release of the framework generated active discussion among urban professionals and industry stakeholders on LinkedIn.
Prof. Dr. P. S. N. Rao, Dean, School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, welcomed the policy intent but cautioned that implementation would be decisive. He noted that housing projects can succeed only when supported by daily water supply, waste management, electricity, transport connectivity, schools, and other civic infrastructure, adding that State and city governments must play a fast-track facilitation role for real on-ground impact.
Urban policy concerns were strongly raised by Aakash Deep Arora, a trade development and policy professional, who criticised the Haryana government’s rollback of Gurugram’s progressive building bye-laws. He termed the move a setback for planned urban growth, arguing that restricting additional floors in high land-cost cities undermines affordability. Arora advocated reinstating uniform plot height norms across HUDA sectors to enable predictable development, shared infrastructure deployment, and increased housing supply.
Another key comment came from G. Srinivas, an independent education management professional, who questioned the continued emphasis on horizontal expansion for EWS and LIG housing. He argued that India should adopt vertical, high-density housing models similar to those in China and Japan to conserve agricultural land and optimise scarce urban land resources.
Support for the framework was also expressed by Anand Mishra, Dr. Hemant Kumar Tantia, and Dr. Prema Mistry, who welcomed the focus on land reforms, coordinated policy action, and inclusive solutions for EWS and LIG households, describing the initiative as an important step towards strengthening the affordable housing ecosystem.
From a regulatory perspective, Dr. Prema Mistry raised questions regarding environmental compliance, asking how many project proponents submit valid sanction plans during Environmental Clearance (EC) stages and adhere to six-monthly compliance reporting requirements to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Industry-oriented suggestions were also shared, with a commenter urging large developers to ensure that at least 50 per cent of their projects include sub-₹30 lakh, one-bedroom housing units to address the needs of lower-income households more effectively.
Reference: NITI Aayog: Overview | LinkedIn
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