BHUBANESWAR: The State government has completed construction of about 16.70 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) on the eve of completion of five years of the scheme. While launching the flagship programme on November 20, 2016 with the objective of providing 'Housing to All' by 2022, the Centre had set a target for construction of 18,78,324 houses in Odisha.
Against the target, 18,56,258 beneficiaries registered their names to avail assistance for construction of houses from the government. While 18,43,461 houses have been geo-tagged, sanction orders were issued to 18,36,396 beneficiaries.
Of the total fund allocation of Rs 24,253.47 crore, the Centre has released Rs 18,250.53 crore and the beneficiaries have utilised Rs 21,710.26 crore by completing construction of 16,69,755 housing units. The State is required to complete construction of another 1,86,530 houses by 2022 to achieve the target. The housing assistance is shared by the Centre and the State in 60:40 ratio.
The State government claims to have constructed over 30.33 lakh houses under PMAY-G, Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana, Pucca Ghar Yojana (Mining) and Nirman Shramik Pucca Ghar Yojana. Apart from focusing on providing houses to eligible beneficiaries, PMAY-G also addresses the basic needs of households through convergence with other schemes.
The beneficiary is entitled to 90/95 person-days of unskilled labour from MGNREGS. Assistance for construction of toilets is leveraged through convergence with Swachh Bharat Mission- Gramin (SBM-G). Convergence for piped drinking water, electricity connection and LPG gas connection under different government programmes is also an inherent thematic component.
An exercise for identification of households, who though eligible for assistance under PMAY-G as per the parameters specified under SECC-2011 but have not been included in the list of eligible beneficiaries and creating an additional list of eligible households was carried out by the Ministry of Rural Development through the States using mobile application 'Awaas+'.
Though the State government has to ensure the provision of land to landless households on priority, more than 45,000 applicants are yet to be provided land or financial assistance for purchase of land.
Housing for all
18,56,258 beneficiaries registered their names under PM Awaas Yojana - Gramin
18,43,461 houses have been tagged till now
Rs 18,250.22 crore released by Centre
Rs 21,710.26 crore utilised by beneficiaries