Only 5.4% of houses under Centre’s flagship scheme reached completion so far this year

Advent of pandemic caused long delays at every stage, says Rural Development Ministry

Less than 6% of houses sanctioned under the in 2020-21 have reached completion so far this year, with COVID-19 stalling progress, the Rural Development Ministry told a Parliamentary Standing Committee last month. However, some States such as Odisha and Jharkhand used the scheme to provide employment opportunities for migrant workers who returned to their villages during the crisis. With a little over a year to go to achieve its goal of “Housing for All”, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin has only completed 55% of its construction target, although money has been sanctioned for almost 85% of beneficiaries. Of the 2.28 crore houses to be built for the rural poor under the Yojana, less than 1.27 crore had been completed by January 28, 2021, according to the Committee’s report presented to the Lok Sabha earlier this month. Another 61 lakh are under construction. The PMAY-G was launched in April 2016 and aims to provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all rural families who are homeless or living in kutcha or dilapidated houses by the end of March 2022.