Deadline missed, 23 states, UTs lose 1.44 lakh PMAY units to UP

Aiming to construct 2.95 crore houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin(PMAY-G) by March 2024, ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the Centre has withdrawn the allocation of 1.44 lakh houses from about two dozen states and Union Territories which failed to sanction the houses by June 30, and given these to Uttar Pradesh as additional allocation.

According to sources, the Ministry of Rural Development, which is in charge of the PMAY-G scheme, has conveyed this to the states and UTs where the allocation of houses under the rural housing scheme has been revised downwards.

These states and UTs are: Gujarat, Tripura, Odisha, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.

The Centre has set a target of constructing 2.95 crore houses by March 2024. Of the 2.95 crore houses, 2.04 crore were to be allocated to states based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, while the remaining 91 lakh houses were allocated based on a survey, Awas+, which was conducted between June 2018 and March 2019 across the country.

However, these states and UTs together failed to sanction a total of 1,44,220 houses — 7,496 from SECC data and 1,36,724 from the Awas+ list — within the deadline of June 30.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, which was initially allocated 34.72 lakh houses, had sought the Centre’s approval for additional houses. The state’s Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya, who holds the rural development portfolio, had written to Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, in this regard.

Explained

‘Housing for all’

THE PMAY-G aims to provide pucca houses with a minimum area of 25 sq m in rural areas. Each beneficiary gets up to Rs 1.2 lakh in the plains, Rs 75,000- Rs 1.30 lakh in hilly states, “difficult” areas. The Centre and states split funding in 60:40 ratio.

Of the initial allocation, UP has completed construction of 29.82 lakh houses while the remaining are under construction. Now, it has been allocated the additional 1,44,220 houses withdrawn from the other states and UTs. Sources said UP has been given one month to sanction the additional houses to eligible households.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Maurya confirmed that he had received a letter from the Centre regarding the additional allocation. However, he said, the state will require 95,000 more houses in order to provide houses to all eligible beneficiaries.

Earlier, the Centre had set December 31, 2022, as the deadline for states to sanction 100 per cent of the houses to eligible beneficiaries. The deadline was later extended to January 16, 2023, then to February 17, March 31, and finally to June 30.

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Since the June 30 deadline has lapsed, the unsanctioned target of 1,44,220 houses from these states and UTs has been withdrawn, said sources.

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However, according to sources, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu have been granted extension till July 31 due to “special circumstances.” In case they fail to meet the target by the month-end, the allocation of unsanctioned houses will be handed to better-performing states/UTs, sources said.

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According to data available on the PMAY-G website, of the Centre’s allocation of 2.93 crore houses till July 17, 2.90 crore have been sanctioned, of which 2.31 crore have been completed.

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