‘Housing For All’, Jobs For Six Crore: Government Cites Estimated Employment Generation Under PMAY-U In Parliament

The government told Lok Sabha on Tuesday (18 December) that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Urban (PMAY-U) might have generated employment for more than six crore people in India, India Today has reported.

Union Urban and Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, quoting a 2014 report of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), said that every Rs 1 lakh invested by the government in the housing sector produces about 2.65 jobs.

"On this basis, it is estimated that a total of 6.07 crore employment might have so far been generated through implementation of the PMAY (U) across the country," said Puri in a written response to a question.

The ministry said it refers to the number of jobs created irrespective of duration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PMAY (U) scheme in June 2015, with an aim to ensure “housing for all” by 2022. Government has set a target of constructing one crore houses over a span of seven years from 2015-22.

According to the report, an official figure reveals that a total of 65,43,970 houses have been approved across the country for construction under the scheme, of which 35,49,531 have been grounded for the construction.

Further, construction of 12,26,530 houses have been completed, and 12,19,549 of these have been occupied by the beneficiaries.