New Delhi: As many as 2285 houses have been sanctioned for transgenders under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The statistics were shared by Minister of State (MoS) for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore in a writtwen reply.
The MoS stated that a per the guidelines of the scheme preference is to be given to to manual scavengers, people belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes, minorities, people with disabilities, transgenders and women and with overriding preference to widows.
"Against the validated demand of 1.12 crore houses, as on 12.12.2022, 1.20 crore houses, including 2,285 houses for transgenders, have been sanctioned by the ministry based on the project proposals submitted by states/union territories, out of which 1.06 crore have been grounded, 65.5 lakh have been completed/delivered to the beneficiaries and remaining are at various stages of construction," stated Kishore.
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The Union Minister further stated that his ministry was supplementing the efforts of the governments of the State and Union Territories by providing central aid under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) since June 25, 2015, to provide pucca house with basic amenities to all eligible urban beneficiaries, including transgenders.
He also said that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) functions through a demand driven approach wherein states and union territories have been empowered to approve projects for beneficiaries identified by them through a demand survey based on the eligibility criteria.
In response to another question Kishore said that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban has been extended till December 31, 2024, for completion of already sanctioned houses and the ministry is well poised to achieve this target within the stipulated time frame.
