NEW DELHI: The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Monday sanctioned 2.88 lakh more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).
With the latest approval, total number of sanctioned houses under the scheme is now over 13.61 lakh, reflecting the Government’s continued commitment to ensure access to dignified and affordable housing for urban families belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG) and and Middle-Income Group (MIG).
The newly sanctioned houses have been approved in 16 states and union territories (UTs) including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The approval has been accorded to different verticals of PMAY-U 2.0; 1.66 lakh houses under Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) category, 1.09 lakh units under Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) and 12,846 Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) houses.
Among the 2.88 lakh sanctioned houses, more than 1.60 lakh houses have been allotted to women, including widows, females who are separated or unmarried. Eight dwelling units are sanctioned for Transgenders.
Further, 22,581 houses have been allotted to senior citizens. While 35,525 houses have been sanctioned for Schedule Caste (SC) beneficiaries, 9,773 are for (Schedule Tribe) ST beneficiaries whereas 82,190 are for OBC beneficiaries.
“Overall, under the 13.61 lakh sanctioned houses under PMAY-U 2.0, 96 percent houses are in the name of female head of the household or in joint ownership in BLC and ISS verticals, reflecting the scheme’s focus on empowering women. Additionally, among the different underprivileged groups, 22 percent houses have been sanctioned for SC beneficiaries, 5 percent for ST beneficiaries and 73 percent for others,” said ministry officials.
The ministry has been promoting rental housing as a separate vertical through ARH to cater to the affordable rental housing needs of the urban migrants, homeless, industrial workers, working women, construction workers and other vulnerable groups.
Furthermore, the CSMC also approved three Demonstration Housing Projects (DHPs) in Chhattisgarh, Puducherry and Rajasthan, with each project comprising 40 dwelling units.
These projects showcase modern and cost-effective construction practices that can enhance the speed, quality and durability of housing construction, facilitating their large-scale replication across the country.
“During the meeting, Secretary, MoHUA emphasised on prioritising housing projects in proximity to mass transit corridors and added that the AHP houses should be within the city for ease of living. He also mentioned that the success of some affordable housing projects should be showcased as best practices for cross-learnings among states or UTs,” officials added.
Meanwhile, states and UTs were encouraged to expedite project implementation, streamline approval processes and strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure timely delivery of houses.
A senior ministry official also highlighted the Importance of beneficiary outreach to ensure that the benefits of PMAY-U 2.0 scheme are delivered to the eligible individuals with special emphasis on women, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, to ensure equitable access to housing.
PMAY-U 2.0 plays an instrumental role in improving the quality of life of urban poor and middle-class families by providing secure housing, strengthening social and economic security and enabling better access to healthcare, education and livelihood opportunities.
PMAY-U 2.0 scheme builds upon the strong foundation laid by Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), which since 2015 has transformed the lives of crores by providing them secure housing. Total number of sanctioned houses under the scheme is 122.50 lakh.