Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Wednesday that his ministry has allocated approximately 3.8 million houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) to 18 states in 2023-24. This forms part of a broader target to construct 30 million houses over the next five years, with 20 million under PMAY-G. An initial release of US$ 1.26 billion (Rs. 10,668 crore) has been made to kickstart construction. So far, US$ 12.16 billion (Rs. 1,03,000 crore) has been spent out of the US$ 21.72 billion (Rs. 1.84,000 crore) allocated for various schemes in the current fiscal. Additionally, a new survey will be conducted to identify more beneficiaries following relaxed eligibility criteria for the scheme. He confirmed that no eligible person would be left out.
The government is also focusing on empowering women through the Lakhpati Didi initiative, which aims to increase the incomes of female self-help group members. The number of such women has risen to 11.5 million, with a target of 30 million by 2024-25. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase IV, sanctions have been granted to construct 6,614 km of rural roads, including 3,380 km in West Bengal. A US$ 8.28 billion (Rs. 70,125 crore) package for PMGSY-IV has been approved to build 62,500 km of rural roads by FY29. Additionally, he addressed issues related to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal, stating that funds would be released once the state resolves identified irregularities.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.