NEW DELHI: Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that states’ contribution has been made mandatory under the second phase of the Pradhan Mantari Awas Yojana (Urban) for the smooth functioning of the government’s ambitious housing scheme. Addressing a press conference on 100 days of the Modi government, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said that there was no such provision in place earlier, adding that in the PMAY (U) 2.0, some new parameters have been added.
The minister said that the Modi government in its first Cabinet meeting after the Lok Sabha elections this year approved PMAY-U 2.0 for construction of additional one crore houses for eligible urban poor and middle-class families over the next five years.
“In PMAY 2.0, some parameters have been changed. States’ contributions have been mandatory as there were some difficulties during the first phase of this housing scheme,” Khattar said.
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year.
Khattar said that under PMAY-U, 1.18 crore houses have been sanctioned while more than 85.5 lakh houses have already been constructed and delivered to the beneficiaries.
In pursuance of the prime minister’s vision, PMAY-U 2.0, with an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore, will address the housing needs of one crore families, ensuring that every citizen leads a better quality of life, Khattar said.
Talking about urban transport, the minister said that the Central government is working towards provision of reliable, safe, comfortable and modern state of the art transport system to its growing urban population.
To this effect, continued expansion of the Metro network has been recognised as a vital step for the economic growth of the city, he said.
Khattar said that in 2014, Metro network was 248 km in five cities, and in the last 10 years, 750 km of metro line has been operationalised which is a record in itself.
“With an operational metro network of 978 km in 23 cities and an under construction length of 985 km, India has the third largest metro rail network in the world with a ridership of over 10 million per day. In the coming years, our metro network will be the second largest in the world,” he said.
He said that ‘Jal hi Amrit’ initiative is also being launched under the second phase of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) during the 100 days agenda of the Government.
