The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today interacted with Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana beneficiaries from across the country, through video bridge. This is the third in the series of video bridge interactions by the Prime Minister with various beneficiaries of Government schemes.Expressing delight at interacting with Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana beneficiaries, Prime Minister said that such interactions help in understanding various aspects of the scheme, including areas that needs to be improved. Prime Minister further added that Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is not just about brick and mortar but about providing better quality of life and dreams coming true.Addressing the beneficiaries, Prime Minister said that the last 4 years, Government has taken a mission mode approach towards providing housing for all. Government is working towards ensuring that every Indian has a home by 2022, when India will celebrate its 75 years of independence, Prime Minister added.Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Government plans to build around three crore houses in rural areas and one crore houses in urban areas.The Government has so far given sanctions to build more than 47 lakh houses in urban areas, which is 4 times more than the sanctions given by the previous government in 10 years. Similarly, sanctions have been given to build more than one crore houses in the rural areas compared to 25 lakh sanctions by the previous government in its last 4 years. Government has also been able to reduce the time needed to build a house from 18 months to 12 months, thereby saving about 6 months.
Emphasizing on the changes brought by the present government in PMAY, Prime Minister said that the size of houses built have been increased to 25 square metre from 20 square metres. Also the financial assistance for the scheme has also been enhanced upto Rs. 1,25,000 from the earlier allocation of Rs. 70,000 - 75,000.During the interaction, Prime Minister said that Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is linked with the dignity of the citizens and the focus of the Yojana is to ensure more women, Divyang sisters and brothers, SC, ST, OBC, and Minority communities get access to housing.Engaging with beneficiaries, Prime Minister said that PMAY has created employment opportunities for all. In order to strengthen the scheme, Government is working towards skill development to ensure faster, and quality construction of houses. As part of it, government has started training about one lakh masons. In addition, Government has also started training female masons in many states, thereby resulting in women empowerment.Interacting with the Prime Minister, all the beneficiaries expressed happiness in owning a house, which has always been a dream. They also explained how it has changed their life and improved the quality of life.