Boost Needed for PMAY-G: Panel Calls for Hike in Housing Assistance

A parliamentary committee recommends increasing financial support for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin, extended till March 2029. The proposed hike aims to address stagnant assistance affecting home completion, and suggests strategies to support landless beneficiaries. Rising costs and inflation contribute to the urgency for revision.

The Parliament's standing committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has recommended an increase in financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) scheme, which has been extended till March 2029. Headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, the committee highlights the need for revised aid to address stagnant amounts that hamper home completion.

The report, tabled in the Lok Sabha, detailed the scheme's current challenges, such as the financial assistance remaining at Rs 1.2 lakh for plain areas and Rs 1.3 lakh for hilly areas, despite rising costs due to inflation. More than two lakh landless beneficiaries still await state assistance for land purchase.

Against an initial target of 2.95 crore houses, 2.66 crore have been built as of October 22, with 29 lakh still lagging. The government has approved an additional two crore homes by 2029. The committee calls for a priority review of per-unit assistance and a policy to resolve the issue of landless beneficiaries.

(With inputs from agencies.)