Guwahati: Assam minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass said on Friday that over 1.71 lakh beneficiaries in the state will receive their first instalment under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G) 2.0 during its nationwide launch later this week.
He claimed that the construction of houses under the scheme has been expedited in the state since the current government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took charge in 2021.
Addressing a press conference here Dass who is the state's Panchayat and Rural Development (P&RD) minister said, “Since the current government took over in May 2021 and I was appointed the P&RD minister, 15,13,133 pucca houses under PMAY-G have been completed in the state..
"If we see the five-year period prior to 2021, about 4.20 lakh houses were completed,” he added.
The PMAY-G was launched in 2016 to provide housing to the 2.95 crore rural poor in India.
When asked about the reason for slower implementation previously even though it was BJP which has been in power both in the state and Centre, Dass maintained that it was due to "improved work culture and enthusiasm" in the department.
"The work culture of CM Sarma is very proactive. He is reviewing the scheme every 15 days with me. I have been visiting blocks, panchayats to supervise it. I am perhaps the only state minister to personally review implementation at the panchayat-level," he claimed.
The minister also maintained that the extension of benefits to contractual employees of the department, like the provision of Provident Fund and child care benefits, has boosted the morale and enthusiasm among them, resulting in faster implementation.
Dass said under PMAY-G, the state received a target of 20,51,842 pucca houses till March 31, 2024, out of which, 19,17,441 houses (93 per cent) have been completed, making Assam one of the best-performing states in the country.
He said under PMAY-G 2.0 additional 2 crore houses will be provided in the country over five years, of which 1,71,593 are being sanctioned for Assam during launch of the second edition of the scheme on September 15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"These beneficiaries will receive their first instalment that day. Along with them, a Griha Pravesh ceremony of 1,03,575 completed PMAY-G houses will be organized all over the state," he added.
He said relaxations in eligibility criteria for PMAY-G beneficiaries have been made by the Central government, with persons with monthly income up to Rs 15,000 to be entitled for the scheme.
Restrictions on families with two or three wheelers and owning refrigerators have been done away it, he added.
Dass said the Union Cabinet has also approved the conduct of an exercise updating the Awaas+, 2018, list to identify eligible rural households after the new relaxations.
“I urge the MLAs, district and panchayat officials to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries are included in the list and anyone left out so far are included during the updating exercise,” he added.
The minister further said PMAY-G clusters are being developed to accommodate some of the landless beneficiaries, and 28 clusters have housed 972 landless beneficiaries across ten districts in the state so far.
He said that the Aadhaar Bridge Payment System (ABPS) will now be mandatory for payments and beneficiaries must link their Aadhar with their bank accounts and enable the ABPS option to receive the payment.
ABPS camps in every district with bank officials are being organized, Dass added.