National: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the first installments of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to lakhs of beneficiaries in rural areas and ‘griha pravesh’ of 26 lakh beneficiaries will be held on September 15 in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Prime Minister will release installments worth Rs 2,745 crore to lakhs of beneficiaries of the PM Awas Yojana. PM Modi will also interact with  PM Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) beneficiaries.

10 lakh beneficiaries to get first installment 

According to the Ministry of Rural Development, around 10 lakh beneficiaries are set to receive their first installments at an event in Jharkhand, where assembly elections are scheduled to take place later this year. Along with this, acceptance letters will also be distributed to all the targeted beneficiaries for the financial year 2024-25.

A large number of people will participate in this program and lakhs of people will join the program online.

Union Minister Chouhan said that the goal was to construct 2.95 crore houses by March 2024, with nearly all of the houses already approved and 2.65 crore houses completed so far.

Chouhan said that the 'griha pravesh', a traditional ceremony performed while moving into a new house, of 26 lakh beneficiaries whose houses have been completed so far during the financial year 2023-24 and 2024-25 will also take place on the day. He further informed that 2 crore additional new houses will be constructed at a cost of more than Rs Rs 3.06 lakh crore.

Centre relaxes exclusion criteria under PMAY 

Chouhan further said that so that no eligible family is deprived of the benefits of this important scheme, the rules of the scheme have been simplified and amended. 

According to the ministry, exclusion criteria such as motorised two-wheelers or fishing boats, refrigerators and landline phones have been removed. Apart from this, the monthly income limit of members of the family has been increased from Rs 10 thousand to Rs 15 thousand. The exclusion criteria related to land ownership has also been simplified. 

“The Ministry of Rural Development, after consulting the views of all the states and all the stakeholders, has decided that unnecessary conditions should be removed so that the objective of housing for all can be truly realized,” the minister said.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

To achieve the objective of "Housing for All" in rural areas, the central government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Gramin with effect from April 2016 with a target of constructing 2.95 crore houses with basic amenities with a deadline of March 2024. Under PMAY, a total of 4.21 crore houses have been built for eligible poor families in the last 10 years.

Two crore more houses will be constructed under the PMAY-G during the next five years to address housing need arisen over the years. Construction of houses for two crore more households is expected to benefit nearly 10 crore individuals, the statement said.  Notably, the Union cabinet had last month approved the implementation of the PMAY-G during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29.

The houses constructed under PMAY are not only shelters but come with essential amenities such as household toilets, LPG connections, electricity connections, and functional household tap connections. These amenities are provided through collaboration with other schemes run by both the Central and State Governments, ensuring a comprehensive approach to improving living standards for the beneficiaries. This integrated effort highlights the government's commitment to enhancing the quality of life for the underprivileged by providing them with well-equipped, sustainable housing.