Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 scheme

New Delhi [India], August 9 (ANI): The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0 on Friday.
Under the new scheme, financial assistance will be provided to 1 crore urban poor and middle-class families through States/Union Territories (UTs)/PLIs to construct, purchase or rent a house at an affordable cost in urban areas in 5 years. The Government assistance of Rs 2.30 lakh crore will be provided under the scheme, as per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs release.
The cabinet also approved the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29. The financial assistance for the scheme is to be provided for the construction of two crore more houses at existing unit assistance of Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh in North Eastern region states and hill states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
PMAY-U is one of the major flagship programmes being implemented by the Government of India to provide all-weather pucca houses to all eligible beneficiaries in the urban areas. 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.
Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2023, from the ramparts of Red Fort had announced that Government of India will come up with a new scheme for the coming years to provide benefit to weaker section and middle-class families in owning a house.
The Union Cabinet on June 10, 2024, resolved to provide assistance to 3 crore additional rural and urban households for the construction of houses, to meet the housing requirements arising out of the increase in the number of eligible families. 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.
Families belonging to EWS/LIG/Middle Income Group (MIG) segments having no pucca house anywhere in the country are eligible to purchase or construct a house under PMAY-U 2.0.
The scheme seeks to address the affordable housing requirement in urban areas through Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Redeemable Housing Vouchers and Affordable Rental Housing (ARH). PMAY-U 2.0 will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), except for the Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS) component, which will be implemented as Central Sector Scheme.
Now, two crore more houses will be constructed under the PMAY-G during next five years from FY 2024-2029 to address housing need arisen over the years. Construction of houses for two crore more households is expected to benefit nearly 10 crore individuals. The approval would facilitate all the houseless and people living in dilapidated and kutcha houses to build safe and secure house of good quality with all the basic amenities. This will ensure safety, hygiene and social inclusiveness of the beneficiaries.
To achieve the objective of "Housing for All" in rural areas, the Government of India had launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Gramin (PMAY-G) with effect from April 2016 with a target of construction of 2.95 crore houses with basic amenities to be achieved in phases till March 2024, the release mentioned. (ANI)