Centre Approves 3.88 Lakh PMAY-G Houses for Assam

Chouhan agrees to CM’s request for insurance coverage for crop damage by elephants & monkeys

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave approval to as many as 3.88 lakh houses to Assam under PMAY-G today, besides giving an assurance that his ministry will approve 3.88 lakh more such houses in April this year. The Government of India will bear Rs 9,726 crore for the 3.88 lakh houses under PMAY-G.

The Union minister gave approval to the PMAY-G houses at a function organized here for the Grihapravesh (house-warming) of 50,000 PMAY-G houses, distribution of agricultural machinery, and felicitation of 20 'Millionaire Baideus.'

Minister Chouhan said, "The target of our government is not to leave out any of the families that are eligible for PMAY-G houses. Keeping that in mind, we have relaxed many of the eligibility criteria so as to include more families under the scheme. We have even given the opportunity to the families for self-surveys of their eligibility themselves. They can upload the photos of their kutcha houses with Aadhaar numbers to the portal with their mobile handsets. For the first time, self-help groups (SHGs) will conduct the eligibility verification of the beneficiaries."

Chouhan said, "We hold power not to do politics, but to ensure the development of the poor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi always thinks of the poor, and that has led him to ensure a pucca house for each of the poor in the country. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has done something unprecedented for the development of Assam."

On agriculture, the Union minister said, "Assam and other states in the Northeast have unlimited potential. Our efforts will be to make the Northeast a vegetable and horticultural hub in the nation. We will provide Rs 365 crore for agricultural mechanisms in Assam. We have agreed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's request to cover crop damage by elephants and monkeys under the Prime Minister's Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)."

The Union minister felicitated 20 'millionaire baideus' and said, "Assam is on the way to being a model state for others insofar as women empowerment is concerned."

He appealed to all to support the 'one nation, one election' move for the greater interest of the country. Frequent elections deter development, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We had 22 lakh PMAY-G houses approved, and we have completed around 20 lakh of them. For these houses, the central government bore around Rs 28,000 crore. According to a geo-survey, Assam has around eight lakh more eligible families to get PMAY-G houses. Recently, the central government approved 1.71 lakh PMAY-G houses. I've appealed to the union minister to approve six lakh more PMAY-G houses to the state. That will ensure each of the surveyed families gets a pucca house."

Speaking on the occasion, Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora said, "I briefed the Union Minister yesterday on the hurdles in the agriculture sector in the state. He gave me several assurances that, if implemented, will benefit the farmers of the state in various ways."

Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass said, "It's an auspicious day for Assam when 50,000 families got new houses. It has been possible due to the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the efforts of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. I hope Assam will have no kutcha house in the near future."

 Also Read: Assam gets 1.71 lakh new houses under PMAY-G 2.0

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