STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In line with the announcement of ensuring housing to rural poor in Jammu and Kashmir by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has released a significant amount of Rs 272.55 crore for disbursement among the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) through Direct Benefit Transfer. This amount included the central share of Rs 245.30 crore released by the Ministry of Rural Development recently.
Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, consistently reviewed implementation of the scheme for ensuring sustained efforts and targeted achievements on this account. The Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has initiated a series of interventions at ground level for effective implementation of the scheme aiming at providing housing support to vulnerable families in rural areas.
According to an official communique received here on Saturday in this regard, the Rural Development Department and Panchayati Raj, has disbursed Rs. 200 crore among the PMAY-G beneficiaries in last 10 days, facilitating payment of 1st installment to 3450 beneficiaries, 2nd installment to 24388 beneficiaries and 3rd installment to 9860 beneficiaries. This proactive approach of the LG administration reflects a strong commitment towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All.
Significant to mention here that the department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj has been implementing the CSS PMAY-G since April 1, 2016, to provide monetary assistance to construct 3.37 Lakh pucca houses with basic amenities. Nearly, 187694 houses have been completed till date, of which, a record number of 59982 houses have been completed in 2023-24 only.
Further, 149,282 houses are at various stages of construction and the department is putting in strenuous efforts eyeing completion of ongoing houses in ensuing 06 months. The PMAY-G would fulfill beneficiaries’ dream of a ‘Pucca House’ with basic amenities, boost their self-esteem, social status, and standard of living.
The welfare of the poor and vulnerable sections has always been top priority of the LG administration and in this endeavour, 138511 PMAY-G houses were sanctioned in June 2023 in the block level camps against a special target allotted by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, pursuant to personal efforts of the Lieutenant Governor.
As a sequel to this, the department has achieved successful saturation of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) and Awaas Plus Permanent waiting lists, besides disbursing Rs. 1285.41 crore Housing assistance among the beneficiaries against an approved allocation of Rs 1726 crore.
To ensure comprehensive coverage, the Administrative Council, led by the Lieutenant Governor, took a significant decision to allocate five-marla land to land deprived families being covered under PMAY-G, ensuring their inclusion in the scheme. The UT Government remains committed towards providing additional assistance of approximately Rs. 400 crore to PMAY-G beneficiaries by the end of this financial year. Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhry, Secretary Rural Development Department and Panchayati Raj, has effectively mobilized field staff to meet scheme objectives promptly. He has initiated several innovative measures to facilitate efficient implementation, and ensure timely completion as well as quality of construction works.