Not enough takers for PMAY-Gramin scheme in Kerala

The Kerala government has told the Centre that there are not enough takers in the state for the Pradhan MantriAwasYojana (Grameen) or PMAY (G). The Centre, in turn, has suggested that the LDF government in Kerala surrender the target under the scheme if it cannot meet it so that the target can be transferred to another state where people can benefit from the subsidy for rural housing. These proceedings were recorded in the minutes of a video conference that the Centre held with various states last month, which have been reviewed by ET. Kerala was allotted a target of building 42,431 houses under the PMAY(G) but it has completed only 13,825 houses so far, as per the PMAY(G) online dashboard. “The state (Kerala) updated its current status of completion under PMAY(G) and Indira AwasYojana. Against a target of 42,431 houses, only 16,589 beneficiaries have been given the first instalment and this was because people were not willing to take benefit under this scheme,” the minutes recorded. Further, as per the minutes, the secretary, rural development ministry then suggested that if Kerala was not in a position to utilise the target, then the target allocated to the state could be surrendered as it could be given to other states. PM Modi had fixed the deadline of March 31, 2019, for completion of ten million houses across the country under the PMAY(G). A senior government official said on condition of anonymity that the PMAY(G) has not met with a good response in Kerala in part because of a higher subsidy being offered by the state government under a different scheme. The state offers a subsidy of Rs 4 lakh to the poor or landless to build a house, higher than the subsidy of Rs 1.2-1.3 lakh offered under the PMAY (G). Telangana, ruled by TRS, faced a similar situation when it was asked by the Centre in October to return ?190 crore under the PMAY(G) and surrender its target of 70,674 houses as the state had failed to build a single house under the scheme. The state’s target has been subsequently revised to zero presently, as per the PMAY(G) dashboard. The Telangana government has also been pushing its own housing scheme instead that promises two-bedroom houses to all homeless poor in the state. “We are hopeful though that the earlier situation may now change since the elections are over in Telangana,” said a senior government official. The Centre hopes to complete more than eight million houses under the PMAY(G) by December 31 and meet the entire target by next March.