New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS): The government would sanction all the targeted 1.12 crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) by March 2020, said Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri at the 15th annual convention of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), here on Tuesday.

Of the initial target of 1 crore houses in urban India, 84 lakh had been sanctioned, he said on the sidelines of the event.

"We have sanctioned 84 lakh houses. I have full faith that by December 2019, all the 1 crore houses will be sanctioned. The additional demand of 12 lakh houses, which has raised our target to 1.12 crore, will be sanctioned in the first three months 2020," Puri said.

Hoping that houses will completed in a timely manner, he said 24 lakh homes had been handed over to the PMAY beneficiaries. "We have done grounding of 48 lakh houses. This figure will soon reach 75 lakh. We have handed over 24 lakh houses and that figure will soon touch 50 lakh," he said.

Puri also said the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) had removed many aberrations. But as the Act was just two-year-old, it could not be expected to solve all problems at one go, he added.

"We are in the process of streamlining RERA procedures. But by and large, the regulator (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) has come to be accepted by all stakeholders," the Minister said.

The statement has come a day after Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said the government was working towards amending several provisions of the RERA, which would benefit both developers and homebuyers.