Assam completes construction of 10 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin)

Assam Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ranjit Kumar Dass announced on April 27 that the construction of 10,02,935 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) has been completed in Assam since 2016. The scheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to provide pucca houses to the poor in rural areas of the country.

Minister Dass expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma for their special initiatives and the rapid implementation of the scheme in Assam. He also thanked the officials and employees of the Panchayat and Rural Development departments for their efforts.

The figures for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) in Assam show that 4,04,304 houses were constructed from 2016 to 09/05/2021, and 5,98,627 houses were constructed from 10/05/2021 to 26/04/2023. On April 27 alone, 3,210 houses were constructed. The construction of another 9 lakh houses under the scheme is currently underway.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G) has been devised in line with Government’s commitment to provide ‘Housing for All’ by 2022 in the rural areas. The scheme aims at providing a pucca house with basic amenities to all houseless householder living in kutcha and dilapidated houses by 2022.

To ensure that the PMAY-G provides assistance to those who are genuinely deprived and that the selection is objective and verifiable, it selects beneficiaries using housing deprivation parameters in the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. The SECC data captures specific deprivation related to housing among households. Using the data, households that are houseless and living in 0,1,2 kutcha wall and kutcha roof houses can be segregated and targeted. The Permanent Wait list generated also ensures that states have ready list of households to be covered under the scheme in coming years (through Annual Select Lists) leading to better planning of implementation.

The Central Government is providing financial assistance to eligible citizens in rural regions to construct pucca houses. According to a revision in terms of the amount sanctioned in the scheme, if the house is built in the plains the new sanctioned amount is Rs 1.2 lakh and if it is built in a hilly region then the amount stands as Rs 1.3 lakh. Along with financial assistance, the beneficiary is also offered 90 days of employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act , (MGNREGA) which effectively to approximately Rs 18000. Another Rs 12000 will be offered to construct toilets.