New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS): A high level inter-ministerial meeting to ensure streamlining of approvals for construction projects in urban areas would be held on October 28, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.

The meeting would be attended by the concerned ministers and secretaries along with the cabinet secretary.

"A final meeting of ministers and secretaries concerned on streamlining of approvals for construction projects in urban areas will be held tomorrow (Wednesday)," Naidu said at a national workshop on affordable housing here.

Four rounds of meetings with the ministers of finance, defence, culture, civil aviation, environment and forests and climate change and their respective secretaries had already been held in this regard, he said.

He said considerable progress had been achieved towards speedy clearances for construction projects.

Noting that shortage of land was among the key challenges in promoting the housing sector in urban areas, the minister urged the state governments to consider waiving off or reduction in stamp duty, registration fees, land conversion fee and other such levies to promote affordable housing projects across the country.

Within four months of the launch of the Prime Minister's Awas Yojana, 20 states had identified 989 cities for taking up housing projects for the urban poor, Naidu said.

As many as 140 lending agencies signed memorandas of understanding with central nodal agencies - National Housing Bank and Housing and Urban Development Corporation- for extending financial support to housing projects.

These agencies include 54 scheduled commercial banks, 63 housing finance corporations, 16 regional rural banks and seven cooperative banks.

Naidu said he hoped that the mission would succeed in building two crore houses in urban areas by 2022.