Centre May Extend Rural Housing Scheme Beyond 2024, Pre-Poll Announcement Likely | Exclusive

The Centre is likely to extend the next phase of its flagship rural housing scheme — Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) — beyond March 2024. The Union Ministry for Rural Development (MoRD) is said to be preparing a proposal for the same, News18 has learnt.

The scheme that provides assistance in building pucca houses and basic amenities to eligible beneficiaries in rural areas was last extended by the union cabinet beyond March 2021 to March 31, 2024, to complete the target of constructing 2.95 crore houses.

The ministry is drafting a proposal, which is to be discussed in the cabinet to start the next phase of the scheme for a five-year period, News18 has learnt.

The BJP-ruled Centre may announce the extension of the scheme before the general elections are scheduled.

Last month, the Centre is learnt to have asked ministries and other implementing agencies on all the welfare schemes that were nearing deadline by the end of the 2023-24 financial year, people familiar with the matter said.

According to a response stated by the MoRD in Parliament in December last year, against the target of 2.95 crore houses, more than 2.94 crore houses have been sanctioned to the beneficiaries by various states and union territories, while 2.51 crore houses have been completed as on December 7, 2023.

PMAY-G came into effect from April 1, 2016, to provide assistance to eligible rural households with an overall target to construct 2.95 crore pucca houses.

In August last year, Minister of State (MoS) for rural development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, while replying to a set of questions in Parliament, had denied extending the scheme for the next phase. Her written reply stated that “at present there was no proposal under consideration of the central government to start the next phase of PMAY-G beyond 2024”.

The PMAY-G households are also provided water, LPG and electricity connections in convergence with other relevant schemes.

Beneficiaries under the scheme are identified from the Permanent Wait List (PWL) of PMAY-G based on the Socio-Economic Caste Survey (SECC) 2011 and the finalised Awaas+ list.