NEW DELHI: The second phase of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) will soon be launched and the allocation for the scheme is likely to be made in the Union budget next month, officials said on Tuesday. An official in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said modalities of the PMAY-U 2.0 are currently being worked out and the second phase will be launched in less than a month.
He said over one crore houses will be constructed in the urban areas, adding that the flagship scheme is being revamped to provide assistance to more urban families.
“The second phase of the scheme will soon be launched and it will be based on the learnings of the first phase of PMAY-U with the focus on better targeting of the scheme and no delay in disbursement,” the official said.
Another official said PMAY-U 2.0 is likely to have three categories — Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG) and Middle Income Group (MIG).
The Union Cabinet of Modi 3.0 government, in its first meeting held on June 10 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved government assistance for the construction of three crore houses under the PMAY.
The PMAY-U was launched by Modi on June 25, 2015 with a vision of ‘Housing for All’.
According to the ministry, in the nine years of its journey, PMAY-U has transformed the lives of millions of families for whom a pucca house was no less than a distant dream.
The government of India has been implementing the PMAY since 2015-16 to provide assistance to eligible rural and urban households for the construction of houses with basic amenities.
In a statement, the ministry said of the 1.14 crore houses that have been grounded for construction, over 84 lakh houses have already been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries.
As on date, out of the committed central assistance of Rs 2 lakh crore, Rs 1.64 lakh crore has been released, the statement said.
Under the scheme, 94 lakh houses are registered in the name of women, it said. Around 25 lakh houses are under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme, one of the four verticals of the scheme, an official said.
“The PMAY-U promotes women empowerment by providing the ownership of houses in the name of female members or in joint names. Over 94 lakh houses have been provided under the name of women, thus giving them an identity of their own,” the ministry said.
It stated that under PMAY-U, new construction technologies are being promoted on a large scale. Light House Projects (LHPs) at six locations of the country are the perfect example of promotion of affordable housing projects constructed using innovative technologies in less time and that can be further replicated in the Indian context.
The LHPs located in Chennai, Rajkot, Indore, Lucknow and Ranchi have already been inaugurated by the prime minister while in Agartala, the construction is in an advanced stage, it also said.
