The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) social welfare program, earlier known as the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) was established to address the lack of housing for individuals who are economically downtrodden. The goal of this program was to construct houses for the Indian rural population that came under the BPL (below poverty line) category. The PMAY – G aims to provide a 25 sq. mt pucca house with basic amenities such as a hygienic cooking space to those who are homeless as well as those living in kutcha and dilapidated houses by the year 2022. The immediate objective of the UPA Government for this program is to provide scheme benefits to 1 crore beneficiaries within a period of three years (2016 – 2017, 2018 -2019)
The size of this house will be 25 sq.mt, including a hygienic cooking space. Assistance for toilet construction will be provided with the help of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), and other sources of funding
Additionally, assistance for piped drinking water, LPG gas connection, electricity connection, etc. will be provided in accordance with other government funding programmes.
Beneficiaries will be selected based on parameters from Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) which will then be verified by Gram Sabhas. An appellate process has also been put in place to address all grievances regarding beneficiary selection.
Amount of assistance provided is Rs. 1.2 lakh in plains and Rs 1.3 lakh in hilly regions, areas with difficult terrain, and Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts
Additionally, the cost of unit assistance will be shared in the ratio of 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 in the Himalayan and North Eastern states between the Central and State governments
The beneficiary will also receive Rs. 90.95 per day of unskilled labour from the MGNREGA
In order to ensure quality house construction, a pan – Indian training and certification programme for masons has been launched that will ensure career progression as well.
The beneficiary will be provided with guidance on house design and disaster resilience features for their particular area. This is to ensure that over-construction is avoided which may result in the beneficiary having to borrow an additional sum of money to complete the construction.
Beneficiaries who wish to procure a loan under this scheme can avail up to Rs. 70,000 and this will be monitored through institutions such as State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), and District Level Bankers’ Committee (DLBC)
Implementation of this programme will be monitored electronically and through community participation, Central and State level governments, etc.
All payments will be made directly to the beneficiaries’ Bank or Post Office account that is linked to their Aadhaar.
Only if the said beneficiaries fulfil the following criteria will they be eligible to avail the benefits of PMAY-G scheme.
Families that do not own houses or those that have no or maximum two rooms with a kutcha roof and wall
Families that do not have a literate adult who is over 25 years old
Families without an adult male between the ages of 16 and 50 years
Households that do not have any able-bodied adult member or have disabled members
Households that do not own land and primarily derive income from casual labour
In case there is a tie with households having the same deprivation score, the following priority will be accorded:
Households with widows where next-of-kin were members of paramilitary/defence/police forces killed in action
Families with members suffering from cancer, leprosy, or those living with HIV(PLHIV)
Families with a single girl child
Beneficiary families of Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers
Transgender persons
Exceptions will be in the cases of:
If a member of the said household has a motorized two, three, four-wheeler vehicle, agricultural equipment, or a fishing boat
The individual has a Kisan Credit Card with a spending limit of Rs.50,000 or more
Family member is a government employee with an income of over Rs.10,000 per month
Household where a member is paying an income or professional tax
Households that own a refrigerator or a landline connection
Bank Account Details
Aadhaar Number
Document providing consent to use Aadhaar information on behalf of beneficiary
Beneficiary job card number that is MNREGA-registered
Swachh Bharat Mission G (SBM) registration number of the beneficiary
There are four aspects to the registration process. These are:
Personal Details
Bank Account Details
Convergence Details
Details from the office concerned with the same
There are multiple ways in which an individual can apply for this scheme.
The beneficiary family can procure and fill-up the form available at their Gram Panchayat. The respective authorities will then get the application processed based on the details provided. In case this is not possible, third-party support can be sought as well. However, one must provide a consent form allowing the third party to use their Aadhaar number for this purpose. Additionally, beneficiaries can also apply for PMAY Gramin online by visiting the PMAY-G website.
One of the biggest challenges faced by those who are economically downtrodden is housing. Due to lack of funds most would resort to constructing houses from materials that were available cheaply but this does not guarantee their safety or security. The Government of India came up with PMAY-Gramin, a social welfare program that would address this issue especially for the rural poor in India.
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