In a bid to ensure housing for all in rural areas of the country, the central government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin scheme till March 2024. “…so that the remaining households can build their pucca houses,” Anurag Thakur, Union Minister, said at a media briefing today, December 8, in Delhi.
Of the target of 29.5 million houses, as of November, 16.5 million houses have been constructed. “Launched in 2016, one crore sixty five lakh [16,500,000] houses have been built,” said Anurag Thakur.
The scheme was to construct a total of 29.5 million houses. Of these, about 16 million are already constructed. Now, financial assistance is to be provided for the remaining 15.57 million houses. The total cost is estimated to be Rs 2,172.57 billion with an additional Rs 186.76 billion as interest repayment to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. This was according to a press statement issued by the Cabinet on December 8.
The extension of the scheme till March, 2024 is expected to ensure the construction of pucca houses with basic amenities so that there will be “Housing for All” in rural India.
