In a bid to appeal to the middle class ahead of the upcoming general elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a housing initiative. The scheme aims to assist individuals residing in rented accommodations, slums, or similar areas to acquire their own homes. Simultaneously, she announced the construction of an additional 20 million houses over the next five years for the rural poor under the ongoing PM Awas Yojana (Grameen).
Presenting a vote on account for 2024-25, also known as an interim budget until the new government assumes office after the general elections, Sitharaman emphasised the Modi government's decade-long commitment to inclusive development, providing housing, water, electricity, cooking gas, and bank accounts to every citizen.
"Our government will introduce a scheme to support deserving segments of the middle class 'living in rented houses, slums, or chawls and unauthorised colonies' to purchase or construct their own homes," Sitharaman stated.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the finance minister highlighted the sustained implementation of the PM Awas Yojana (Grameen), approaching the target of three crore houses. She added that an additional two crore houses would be initiated over the next five years to address the growing demand due to an increase in the number of families.
To realise the 'Housing for All' goal in rural areas, the Ministry of Rural Development has been executing the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) since April 1, 2016. The overarching objective is to construct 29.5 million pucca houses with basic amenities by March 2024.
The central assistance under PMAY-G is directly allocated to the State/UT as a unit, with subsequent disbursement to beneficiaries at the district/block/grand panchayat level by the respective State Government/UT Administration.
According to an official statement in December, the central share of funds released to the States/UTs for house construction under PMAY-G from the fiscal year 2018-19 to 2022-23 amounted to approximately Rs 1,60,8533.8 million.
