New Delhi, September 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday participated in ‘Grih Pravesham’ and inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He stated that previously the poor used to run after the government, now the government is going to the people.

PM Modi said, "Earlier the poor used to run after the government, now the government is going to the people. Now the name cannot be added or reduced in the list as per one's wish. Scientific and transparent methods are being adopted from selection to manufacture." NEP 2020 Conclave: PM Narendra Modi Says 'NEP Will Reduce Syllabus & Make Learning Fun Based, Schools to Adapt to New Curriculum by 2022'; Here Are the Highlights.

Speaking on the priority of PMAY-G, the Premier said, "Priority is also being given to locally available and used goods, from materials to construction. The designs of the house are also being prepared and accepted according to the local needs. The beneficiary builds his own house with complete monitoring of every stage with complete transparency."

The Premier stated that Rs 23,000 crore has been spent on the 'Housing for All' scheme. He said, "In 2014, after studying old experiences, the old scheme was first reformed and then the scheme was implemented with a whole new perspective in the form of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana." He further added, "Be it toilets built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, they are not only providing facilities to the poor, but they are also a great medium of employment and empowerment."

Stating that the houses were made in 45-60 days, he said, "Generally, it takes an average of 125 days to build a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. In this period of Corona, houses have been built and constructed in just 45 to 60 days under PM Housing Scheme. This is a great example of turning disaster into an opportunity."

During this ceremony, he congratulated the owners of the houses and interacted with them. He said, "I also congratulate the 2 lakh such families of Madhya Pradesh, who are going to enter the house, this time Diwali of all of you, the happiness of all your festivals will be something else. To join you in such a great joy of life, your head server would be among you."

While interacting with the house owners, PM Modi asked about the difficulties faced by them during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is to be known that All of these houses have been built/completed during the current challenging COVID-19 pandemic period.

Under the PMAY-G, 1.75 lakh poor households have been benefited in Madhya Pradesh. Each beneficiary was given a 100 per cent grant of Rs 1.20 lakh with a sharing ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State. The amount was given by way of 4 instalments directly into the bank account of the beneficiary after verification of various stages of construction through Geotagged photographs.

As per the details, the Centre aims to construct 2.95 crore houses by the year 2022. So far, 1.14 crore houses have already been built across the country under the PMAY-G scheme. The scheme was given a clarion call of “Housing for All by 2022” by PM Modi and launched it on November 20, 2016.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2020 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).