New Delhi: The newly formed Union Cabinet Monday approved the proposal to sanction three crore houses in rural and urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in what was one of the first major decisions of the NDA government in its third term.
The PMAY, in the last 10 years, has ensured 4.21 crore houses for eligible economically poor families, according to the latest government figures.
“It has been decided in the Cabinet meeting today to provide assistance to 3 crore additional rural and urban households for the construction of houses to meet the housing requirements arising out of the increase in the number of eligible families,” read the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Monday.
Houses constructed under PMAY come with basic amenities such as toilets, LPG connection, electricity connection, functional water tap connection, etc., facilitated under other central and state schemes, said the PMO statement.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, it added, has been working on a plan to bridge the housing gaps in rural and urban areas from last year.
Though the Centre did not give a break-up of the number of houses in rural and urban areas, it will likely provide financial assistance to two crore families in rural areas for houses, according to the interim budget this year.
The Union housing and urban affairs ministry — the nodal ministry for implementing PMAY-Urban — is also working on a plan to provide relief on home loans to eligible beneficiaries in urban areas.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the government campaigned on affordable housing to connect with poor people in rural areas and the middle-class segment in cities.
Modi, in his Independence Day speech last year, announced that the government was planning a scheme to provide relief on the interest charged on home loans for middle-class families in urban areas. The PM, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, said, “Middle-class families are dreaming of their own house. We are coming up with a plan for that also for the coming few years… family members who live in cities but live in rented houses, live in slums, live in chawls, unauthorised colonies (will be covered). We have decided to help (people save) lakhs of rupees by giving relief in the interest of the loan they will take from the bank.”
Presenting the 2024-25 interim budget in February this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman first announced the decision to construct two crore additional houses in rural areas. “Despite the challenges due to COVID, implementation of PMAY-G continued and we are close to achieving the target of three crore houses. Two crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years to meet the requirement arising from (an) increase in the number of families,” she said at the time.
Under PMAY-Gramin (PMAY-G), which ended on March 31 this year, 2.95 crore rural beneficiaries have received financial assistance to build houses, and the rural development ministry’s dashboard on the scheme showed 2.62 crore of these houses are complete. On the other hand, 1.19 crore houses have been sanctioned under PMAY-Urban, according to the latest government figures.
Last year, the Modi government also decided to sanction five lakh additional houses to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), launched in November 2023.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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