56,464 homes have been built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Gujarat: MoS in Centre replies Nathwani in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Central Government has built 56,464 housing units and 85,797 units are under construction under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Gujarat. The government has released total Rs1455.75 crore assistance to the State of Gujarat for making cities slum free. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri tabled this information in Rajya Sabha on February 8, 2018 in a reply to a question from Rajya Sabha member Shri Parimal Nathwani.

National Advisory Council (NAC) stressed upon the need for making the cities of India slum free and all the suggestions of NAC were incorporated in the then Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) which was meant to make cities of India ‘slum free’. All the ongoing RAY projects have now been subsumed in the new mission namely “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)” (PMAY(U)), which was launched in June 2015 for providing houses to all eligible urban poor including slum dwellers. The PMAY (U) also has a component of “In-Situ Slum Redevelopment” using land as a resource.

Shri Nathwani wanted to know about the present progress of rehabilitation of slum dwellers across the country and the timed Government aimed at making urban India free from slums.

According to the minister’s statement presented in the house, the central government sanctioned assistance of Rs2,700.59 crore of which Rs 1,455.75 crore have already been released. It had sanctioned total 1,82,276 housing units for the State of Gujarat under PMAY (U), of which ground breaking has been completed for 1,42,443 units in 164 cities and towns. Out of the total 56,464 housing units built in the State, 45,656 units have already been occupied by the beneficiaries, said the statement.

The minister also said that Construction/allotment of houses under these schemes is the responsibility of State/UT Governments and Urban Local Bodies concerned. The mission period of the PMAY (U) is upto the year 2022. States are required to submit project proposals [Detailed Project Proposals (DPRs)] duly approved for construction of houses for urban poor including slum dwellers and the projects are to be completed as per the time schedule prescribed in DPRs, he said.

DeshGujarat