The long list of conditions to comply with is trumping low-interest rate, and that's why city builders are reluctant to accept the loans offered by Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp Limited (SPPL), a state government-owned company.

Incorporated to boost slum projects in the city, it had come up with a scheme last year — loans at interest rates lower than other banks to developers constructing affordable homes — but to the dismay of slum dwellers, just two applications have been scrutinised and are in the final stages.