No discrimination against any state on allotment of houses under PMAY-G: Govt

Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday asserted that there has been no discrimination against any state towards the allotment of houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin.

New Delhi: Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday asserted that there has been no discrimination against any state towards the allotment of houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin. Replying to queries raised by Lok Sabha members regarding the scheme, he also clarified that Karnataka was allowed to enter beneficiaries data in the Awaas Plus portal for allotment of houses as it had not received any such houses.

BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab requested that the Awas Plus website be opened for a month for Odisha so that the names of beneficiaries who are mostly cyclone Fani affected households in the state can be incorporated. "Odisha has been linked to our portal from the beginning. We gave opportunity to Odisha four times, they have given up details of 14 districts. We have not been unfair to anyone. In the past seven years 2.46 crore houses have been built under the scheme... we have given electricity, toilets...," he said.

He further stated that the in order to achieve "housing for all" in rural areas, the Ministry of Rural Development is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G) with effect from April 2016 to provide assistance to eligible rural households with an overall target to construct 2.95 crore pucca houses with basic amenities. Congress's Gaurav Gogoi urged the minister to consider designs for houses under the scheme for people living in flood affected areas and National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi alleged that eligible beneficiaries are unable to get houses under the scheme.

Highlighting the work done by the government under this scheme, the minister said that from 1985 to 2014, 11.21 lakh affordable houses were built per year, while during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, every year 35.19 lakh houses were built.

PTI