Centre approves construction of houses for poor in Andhra Pradesh under PMAY

The central government has approved the construction of houses for economically backward people under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY) for Andhra Pradesh. The query about the approval was put forth by MP Vijayasai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. In response, the Minister of State (Independent) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the Centre received a total of 85 proposals for building 1,24,624 houses for the benefit of the economically weaker sections in 2019-20 from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

He confirmed that the government has approved all the proposals and assistance of Rs.1869.36 crore has been granted to undertake the project. Minister Hardeep Singh Puri added that the projects were approved in the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee’s 48th meeting that was held on October 31 this year. As per the discussions in the meeting, the first installment of the aid, around 40% of the central assistance, would reportedly

be released on the basis of attachment of beneficiaries in PMAY (U)- Management Information System (MIS).

In August this year, Andhra Pradesh was named as one of the states to have performed well under the scheme with respect to the speed of construction. The state completed construction of 3 lakh houses as per rating agency ICRA.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) was launched in June 2015 by PM Narendra Modi

to provide affordable houses to economically weaker sections of the society. The houses are planned to have an electricity supply, water facility, and sanitation. 305 cities and towns were identified in 9 states to flag off the project. The scheme is proposed to build 2 crore houses for urban poor, that includes groups from low-income groups. Financial aid of Rs 2 trillion was set as the estimate for completion of the projects by 2022.