Under the housing scheme 1.75 crore houses have been completed, Centre said. (File)
The Central government on Wednesday informed that 1.75 crore houses have been completed under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G).
Union Minister for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday said under the scheme, 2.28 crore houses have been sanctioned to the beneficiaries, out of which 1.75 crore houses have been completed as on March 9, 2022.
"The PMAY-G guidelines provide for the construction of a house within 12 months from the date of sanctioning the same to the beneficiary. The assistance is released to the beneficiary in a minimum of 3 installments linked to various stages of completion like at the time of sanction, foundation, plinth, windowsill, lintel, roof, etc. Since the figures of house sanction and completion are dynamic and there is a gap of 12 months between sanction of the house till its completion, therefore, there would always be some gap between the figures of houses sanctioned and houses built during the implementation of the scheme," she stated.
The minister said that during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic induced nation-wide lockdown, all construction activities including construction of houses under PMAY-G were also affected which retarded the pace of construction of PMAY-G houses.
"Besides, the delays are also due to delay in release of Central & State Share from State Treasury to State Nodal Account of PMAY-G, cases of the unwillingness of beneficiaries to complete the construction, migration, disputed succession of deceased beneficiaries, delay in allotment of land to landless beneficiaries by the States/UTs and at times those occuring on account of General/Assembly/Panchayat elections, unavailability of building materials etc," she added.
She also informed that the Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of PMAY-G beyond March 2021 till March 2024 for completion of remaining houses within the cumulative target of 2.95 crores houses under PMAY-G.