'Govt aims to build 2.95 crore houses by 2022 in rural India'

New Delhi: Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday attacked Congress-led UPA government for its poor implementation. While interacting with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri AwaasYojana–Gramin (PMAY-G) on completion of three years of the scheme, the minister said that a housing scheme for rural poor was in existence prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government came into power, but it was stuck due to lot of red-tapism.

The minister interacted with the beneficiaries of the PMAY-G from 5 states namely Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and heard their testimonies.

"The PMAY-G was launched on November 20, 2016 with an aim of providing housing for all in rural areas under the guidance of Prime Minister's vision. The scheme was made more comprehensive as it included amenities like water, gas, toilet and electricity supply in all the households," he told beneficiaries.

"Under the PMAY-G, houses are being constructed using new technologies. Time for construction of houses under the scheme has reduced to 114 days from 314 days in 2015-16 due to use of direct benefit transfer (DBT) platform. Under the PMAY, the minimum size of a house has also been increased to 25 square meters," the minister told beneficiaries during the interaction through video-conferencing,

The minister further informed that 87 lakh homes in different parts of the country have already been completed and the aim is to have 2.95 crore houses by 2022.

"This will complete Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of housing for all in rural India by 2022. The government has ensured that all houses constructed under PMAY-G are designed properly by experts who have made it

on the basis of topology and they are climate resistant homes," he said.