Cabinet approves continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin

New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS) To ensure housing for all in rural areas, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) till March 2024.

The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the department of Rural Development for continuation of PMAY-G beyond March 2021 wherein financial assistance is to be provided for the construction of the remaining 1.55 crore houses, as on March 31, 2021 under the scheme within total target of 2.95 crore houses.

The total financial implication for construction of the remaining 1.55 crore houses is Rs 2,17,257 crore (Central share Rs1,25,106 crore and state share Rs 73,475 crore) for achieving cumulative targets of 2.95 crore houses in rural areas under the PMAY-G and an additional requirement of Rs 18,676 crore towards the interest repayment to NABARD.

The continuation of the scheme till March 2024 ensures that the remaining 155.75 lakh households within the overall target of 2.95 crore houses under PMAY-G would be provided assistance for construction of 'Pucca' houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of 'Housing for All' in rural areas.

As on November 29, 1.65 crore PMAY-G houses have been constructed out of the total target of 2.95 crore.

It is estimated that 2.02 crore houses, which is almost equal to SECC 2011 database based Permanent Wait List, will be completed by the deadline of August 15, 2022.

Therefore, to achieve the total target of 2.95 crore houses, the scheme needs to be continued till March, 2024.

The phasing out of EBR and provision of entire scheme funding through Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) shall be decided in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.

Release of additional Rs 45 lakh administrative funds annually from the Central share of Administrative funds (0.3 per cent out of total administrative fund of two per cent) to each smaller state Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, the northeastern states except for Assam and Tripura, and all UTs except Jammu and Kashmir over and above 1.70 per cent administrative funds released to said States/UTs.