About The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin)

Context:

The Centre has withdrawn the allocation of 1.44 lakh houses from about two dozen states and UTs which failed to sanction the houses by June 30 under the PMAY-G, and given these to UP as additional allocation.

• Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) aims to construct 2.95 crore houses by March 2024.

Relevance:

GS II- Welfare Schemes

Dimensions of the Article:

1. PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin)
2. Allocation of Houses and UP’s Share
3. What are the reasons for delay?

PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin)

• PMAY-G is a rural housing program that aims to provide pucca houses with basic amenities to houseless households and those living in kutcha and dilapidated houses by 2022.
• It was introduced in 2016 to address gaps identified in the previous rural housing program, Indira Awas Yojana.
• The immediate objective is to cover 1 crore households living in kutcha and dilapidated houses by 2018-19.
• The program selects beneficiaries using housing deprivation parameters from the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011, verified by Gram Sabhas.

Salient Features of PMAY-G:

• Minimum size of the house increased to 25 sq.mt with a hygienic cooking space.
• Increased unit assistance for construction, shared between the Central and State Governments.
• Leveraging convergence with other programs for assistance in toilet construction, piped drinking water, electricity connection, LPG gas connection, etc.
• National Technical Support Agency (NTSA) established for better quality construction.
• Training and certification program for masons launched.
• Implementation and monitoring through e-Governance model using Awaas Soft and Awaas App.
• Community participation through social audit and oversight by Member of Parliament (DISHA Committee).

Allocation of Houses and UP’s Share:

• The Centre has set a target of constructing 2.95 crore houses by March 2024.
• Allocation of houses is based on SECC data and a survey called Awas+ conducted between 2018 and 2019.
• Some states and UTs failed to sanction the allocated houses within the deadline.
• Uttar Pradesh (UP) had completed a significant number of houses and requested additional houses.
• As a result, the additional houses that were withdrawn from other states and UTs have been allocated to UP.

What are the reasons for delay?

• The government officials blame the Covid-19 Pandemic for the slowdown.
• The completion rate for houses sanctioned before the Covid-19 pandemic stood around 80%.
• Six States account for 70% of the target units — West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • Out of them only two States — Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal — have a completion rate above the national average.
  • Bihar has one of the lowest completion rates.
• In urban areas, issues such as a lack of clear titles and other land documents tend to crop up. This further slowed down the pace. The same is true for rural areas as well.

-Source: Indian Express