The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) spent INR 57,075.19 crore during 2025-26 against its revised budget estimate of INR 57,203.78 crore, resulting in 99.78 per cent utilisation. The expenditure details were placed before the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs as part of its examination of the ministry’s Demands for Grants for 2026-27. 
The committee, chaired by Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, examined the ministry’s scheme-wise expenditure and noted that while overall utilisation remained high, three schemes did not record any expenditure during the financial year. These were the Scheme for Industrial Housing, National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) and Urban Challenge Fund (UCF). 
According to the ministry’s data submitted to the committee, expenditure under its various schemes stood at INR 52,978.83 crore against the revised estimate of INR 53,096.53 crore, translating into 99.78 per cent utilisation. 
The MRTS and Metro Projects accounted for the largest expenditure among the listed schemes. The ministry spent INR 29,451 crore against the revised estimate of INR 29,451 crore, resulting in 100 per cent utilisation. 
Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban and PMAY-Urban 2.0, expenditure stood at INR 8,948.82 crore against the revised estimate of INR 8,963.37 crore. This represented 99.84 per cent utilisation. 
The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) recorded expenditure of INR 7,789.52 crore against the revised estimate of INR 7,814.86 crore, resulting in 99.68 per cent utilisation. 
The Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban recorded expenditure of INR 1,945.47 crore against its revised estimate of INR 2,000 crore. Its utilisation stood at 97.27 per cent. 
The ministry also fully utilised the revised allocation of INR 571.98 crore under the PM SVANidhi scheme. Under the Deendayal-Jan Aajeevika Yojana (Shahari), expenditure was INR 95 crore against the revised estimate of INR 95 crore, resulting in complete utilisation. 
The PM-eBus Sewa Scheme recorded expenditure of INR 171.20 crore against a revised estimate of INR 173.70 crore, with utilisation at 98.39 per cent. 
In contrast, no expenditure was reported under the Scheme for Industrial Housing, NUDM and UCF. The revised estimates for all three were shown as nil. The absence of spending under these programmes came despite provisions having been made for them in the original budget framework. 
The Urban Challenge Fund was among the new initiatives announced in the Union Budget for 2025-26. The fund was proposed to support bankable urban projects, with the government intending to provide up to 25 per cent of project costs, subject to at least 50 per cent of the funding coming through sources such as bonds, bank loans and public-private partnerships. The original budget had proposed INR 10,000 crore for the fund for 2025-26. 
The National Urban Digital Mission was also included in the ministry’s budget framework. The Union Budget documents list NUDM, PM-eBus Sewa, PMAY-Urban, the Scheme for Industrial Housing and the Urban Challenge Fund among the ministry’s programmes and allocations. 
Apart from the schemes, the ministry reported expenditure of INR 4,002.14 crore under the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) scheme against a revised estimate of INR 4,022.55 crore. 
While the overall expenditure figure indicates a high level of utilisation against the revised allocation, the parliamentary committee raised concerns over the reduction in Revised Estimates and the inability to operationalise certain approved schemes. 
The committee observed that the substantial reduction in Revised Estimates remained a concern, particularly as urbanisation continues to increase and cities face growing requirements for housing, transport, sanitation and other urban infrastructure. 
The panel took note of the reasons provided by the ministry but said budget estimates should be made more realistic. It also stressed the need for approved schemes to become operational on time so that funds provided through the budget can be converted into actual implementation. 
The concern comes against a wider backdrop of increasing pressure on urban infrastructure. Earlier expenditure data had also shown slower spending by MoHUA during the initial part of FY26, with PMAY, Swachh Bharat Mission and several newly introduced schemes recording relatively low utilisation at that stage. The Urban Challenge Fund, NUDM and Scheme for Industrial Housing had reported no spending during the early months of the financial year. 
The ministry’s budget position has also been revised substantially across financial years. The official Union Budget documents show that the revised net allocation for MoHUA for 2025-26 stood at INR 57,203.78 crore, compared with the original budget estimate of INR 96,777 crore. The Budget Estimates for 2026-27 have subsequently been placed at INR 85,522.39 crore. 
The committee’s observation therefore goes beyond the overall utilisation percentage. While most major operational schemes used almost all of their revised allocations, the panel has pointed to the need for more accurate initial estimates and faster implementation of newly approved programmes. This is particularly relevant as the ministry’s responsibilities cover housing, mass urban transport, sanitation and broader urban infrastructure requirements. 
Source PTI