States Demand Hike In PM Awas Yojana-Gramin's Unit Assistance Ahead Of Union Budget 2025-26 As Construction Costs Rise

As the Union Budget for 2025-26 approaches on 1 February, over a dozen states have urged the central government to increase the unit assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).

The demand was made during a meeting between the rural development ministers of various states and Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on 3 January, reported The Indian Express.

The states, including Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, and Jharkhand, have called for a hike in the unit assistance from Rs 1.20-1.30 lakh to Rs 2-2.25 lakh.

This increase comes as a response to rising construction costs, as the PMAY-G unit assistance has remained unchanged since the scheme's inception in 2016.

At that time, the government set the unit assistance at Rs 1.20 lakh for plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh for hilly states, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and northeastern states, as well as areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).

The PMAY-G, launched in 2016, aims to construct 2.95 crore houses in rural areas. Despite the freeze on unit assistance for the past nine years, several states have already been providing higher assistance.

For example, Jharkhand’s Abua Awas Yojna offers Rs 2 lakh per beneficiary, while Tamil Nadu provides an additional Rs 1.2 lakh on top of the Rs 1.20 lakh PMAY-G assistance.

In the Interim Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 2 crore more houses would be constructed under PMAY-G in the next five years, with Rs 54,500 crore allocated for the scheme in the financial year 2024-25.

Sources indicate that the states' call for an increase is essential for maintaining the affordability of housing projects and ensuring that the PMAY-G can continue to meet its ambitious goals.