The government has advanced the deadline for meeting the target under its ‘housing for all’ initiative for rural India by three months through December 2023, according to a booklet released by the rural development ministry on Friday. If materialised, it will be a critical achievement of the NDA government ahead of the 2024 general election.
It built 24.5 million houses for beneficiaries under the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) until September 30, of the targeted 29.5 million to ensure every family in rural India has a house of their own, the ministry said. The remaining sanctioned houses, already at various stages of construction, will be completed by December.
Addressing reporters, rural development minister Giriraj Singh said the central government has constructed a record 32.1 million rural houses under both the PMAY (Gramin) and the Indira Awas Yojana since 2014. It has released Rs 2.48 lakh crore for this purpose, he added.
Under the PMAY-Gramin, the Centre bears 60% of the construction cost in most states, while state governments pitch in with the rest. However, the Centre’s contribution goes up to 90% for north-eastern and hilly states and to 100% for Union territories.
The Centre had sharply raised its outlay for the PMAY-G in its revised estimate for FY23 to Rs 48,422 crore from the budget estimate of Rs 20,000 crore in a bid to give a fresh leg-up to the pace of house construction. For FY24, the Centre has allocated a record Rs 54,487 crore, up 12.5% from the RE of FY23.
Highlighting his ministry’s achievements of the NDA regime, Singh said more than Rs 6.63 lakh crore has so far been released under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) since 2014. As many as 26.44 billion person days have been generated during the last nine years, he added.
There is no fund constraint to meet the rise in demand for work under the MGNREGS, Singh said, adding that his ministry has approached the finance ministry for additional funds in the current fiscal year over and above the budgeted Rs 60,000 crore.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, roads over 7,44,000 km have been completed and more than 1,62,000 rural habitations have been connected through “all-weather roads”, the minister said.
Singh said under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna (National Rural Livelihoods Mission), as many as 73.3 million women have been mobilised into self-help groups (SHGs). Loans amounting to more than Rs 7.22 lakh crore have been disbursed by banks to these SHGs. The bad loans in this segment stood at 1.88% of gross advances, he said, way below the 3.9% of non-performing assets in the banking system as of March 2023.
The ministry is now aiming to reach 100 million women through SHGs by December this year, making at least 20 million of them lakhpati, the minister said. Similarly, under its water storage initiative for rural areas, more than 67,000 ‘Amrit Sarvoar’ (water bodies) have been developed so far.
The Mission Amrit Sarovar aims to develop and rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies in each district of the country.
