Illegal Rentals Surge in Pune’s PMAY Housing Scheme to Trample Official Municipal Guidelines

Despite explicit legal clauses prohibiting the commercial exploitation of welfare housing, an illegal rentals surge has hit Pune’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) complex in Wadgaon Khurd, where nearly 150 flats are unlawfully occupied

Pune | 02 June 2026: An illegal rentals surge has deeply compromised the integrity of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) housing project in the Wadgaon Khurd area of Pune. Launched with the core objective of providing affordable housing to the economically weaker sections, the scheme is facing rampant commercial exploitation. Under current regulations and official agreements signed between the beneficiaries and the civic body, leasing, selling, or transferring these flats to third parties is strictly prohibited. Despite these clear legal mandates, approximately 100 to 150 flats within the Sinhagad PMAY Housing Society have been unlawfully rented out.

The violation is operating with alarming audacity, as advertisements for flat rentals are openly displayed at the housing society’s main entrance and circulated across digital channels, including WhatsApp groups. The influx of unauthorized tenants has caused significant friction, prompting the original resident beneficiaries to raise serious safety and security concerns. Many original allottees have alleged that the internal housing society committee might be covertly shielding these illegal occupants, allowing the practice to continue unchecked.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has drawn heavy flak for its administrative inertia regarding the matter. The PMC’s PMAY department first uncovered the operational violations and issued an official notice to the society management on July 23, 2024, demanding the eviction of all unauthorized tenants within eight days. Although the deadline elapsed without any concrete ground enforcement, a subsequent follow-up warning was issued on May 21. Even after the second notice, field action remains completely stalled.

Acknowledging the persistent violations, PMC City Engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar reiterated that using PMAY housing units for commercial gains is an absolute breach of contract. He assured that specialized civic teams would conduct thorough on-site inspections of the buildings and execute strict punitive actions against violating property owners.

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