The department of rural development has set short-term and mid-term goals, which include funding 400 homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural) by 2023 and providing social assistance to 22,000 beneficiaries or pensioners.
The short-term goals, which have to be achieved by 2021, are sanctioning funds for 200 homes under the PMAY scheme and generating 2 lakh work days under the MNREGA scheme through which 460 infrastructure projects will be taken up.
The short-term and long-term goals are part of the state’s strategy to undertake development in rural areas, said a document released by the department.
The document shows that under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), 193 individuals received a subsidy to build their homes in 2019-20, while in 2020-21, 102 persons received funds to construct homes till January 2021.
“Our short-term goals, which are to be achieved by 2021, require us to hit a target of 18,000 beneficiaries under the National Social Assistance Programme. In the PMAY-G scheme, we need to sanction financial support for 200 houses,” a department official said . The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, which is implemented through the department, proved to be a source of livelihood during the pandemic, with the department’s data showing a jump in the number of job cards and work days created.
In 2019-20, 33,937 man-days of work were generated, 102 job cards were issued, works sanctioned were 280, and 97 works were completed.