Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: PM Modi Releases Funds Worth Rs 2,691 Crore For 6.1 Lakh Beneficiaries

PM Modi also hit out at the Congress and said the nation’s poor had to bear the brunt of previous governments’ ‘wrong policies’.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 20 January 2021 2:34 pm

Previously, the country’s poor never believed that the central government would help them in owning a house, but that has changed today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday while releasing financial assistance of Rs 2,691 crore to 6.1 lakh beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The PM also interacted with beneficiaries of the scheme through video conferencing. Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Adityanath were also present on the occasion.

Modi also hit out at the Congress and said the nation’s poor had to bear the brunt of previous governments’ “wrong policies”. In his 30-minute speech, the prime minister also claimed that the people of Uttar Pradesh have not forgotten the previous governments for their wrongdoing.

Modi also praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the all-round development in the state and speedy implementation of central schemes, saying it has given the state a "new identity".

The assistance released under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana includes release of first instalment to 5.30 lakh beneficiaries and second instalment to 80,000 beneficiaries who have already availed of the first instalment of assistance.

Modi had initiated a flagship programme—'Housing for All by 2022’, for which Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) was launched on November 20, 2016.

So far 1.26 crore houses have already been built across the country under the scheme, an official release said.

Under PMAY-G, each beneficiary is given 100 per cent grant of Rs 1.20 lakh (in plains) and Rs 1.30 lakh (in hill states/NE region/difficult areas/JK & Ladakh besides Naxal-hit districts besides areas falling under the Integrated Action Plan IAP).

The beneficiaries of PMAY-G are also provided support of unskilled labour wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and assistance of Rs 12,000 for construction of toilets through the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G), MGNREGS or any other dedicated source of funding.

The scheme has provisions for convergence with other central or state government schemes for providing LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Scheme, electricity connection and access to safe drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

(With PTI inputs)