Uttarakhand govt has signed an agreement with the Union govt for the second phase of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which will offer enhanced financial grants to beneficiaries. Officials said over 34,000 houses have been constructed in the state under the scheme so far.
Urban development secretary Nitesh Jha said, “We executed an agreement with the Centre for this scheme. The central govt’s contribution per house has increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2.2 lakh, providing enhanced assistance to beneficiaries of the state.” PM Awas Yojana 2.0 was announced by the Centre in Sept.Officials from the urban development department said the scheme provides grants for house construction to families with annual incomes between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 18 lakh, aiming to ensure housing for all urban homeless families.
In the first phase, the Centre sanctioned 64,391 houses for Uttarakhand. Of the 25,976 houses approved under the beneficiary-led construction component, 12,222 were completed by Oct, while construction continues on the rest. The central govt contributes Rs 1.5 lakh per house (totaling Rs 263.7 crore), with the state govt adding Rs 50,000 per house.
Under the affordable housing component, 15,960 houses were sanctioned, 11,384 allocated, and 1,894 completed. Here too, the Centre provides Rs 1.5 lakh per house (Rs 161.9 crore in total), and the state contributes an additional Rs 2 lakh, reducing the beneficiary’s share to Rs 3.5 lakh per house.
All 19,919 houses approved under the loan-based construction component have been completed, with interest subsidies offered through banks.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “The PM Awas Yojana is providing shelter to millions of homeless families. Thousands of people in Uttarakhand have received permanent residences under the scheme with assistance from both the central and state govts.”
