PMAY assistance to be increased to Rs 1.8 lakh; guideline soon: Odisha Minister

The financial assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) will be increased to Rs 1.8 lakh from the existing Rs 1.2 lakh. A guideline in this regard will be released soon, informed Odisha Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department Minister Rabi Narayan Naik on Monday.

Speaking to the media, Naik said, “A financial assistance of Rs 1.2 lakh used to be given to the beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. This will be increased to Rs 1.8 lakh. A notification in this regard will be released soon. If MGNREGA is included, the beneficiaries will get around Rs 2 lakh.”

“Similarly, the beneficiaries were getting Rs 12,000 for construction of toilets. Now, we are planning to increase it to Rs 20,000. Every household in rural Odisha will be a model house with a toilet and clean drinking water supply facility,” the Minister added.

Our government is also planning to roll out Odisha Antyodaya Gruha Yojana under which people, whose houses were damaged in fire mishaps, elephant attacks or other natural disasters, will be provided assistance, Naik informed.

Commenting on 'Mo Ghara' scheme, the Minister said, “The housing scheme of the previous BJD government was a political stunt and no one has benefitted from the scheme. People have no interest in the scheme.”

Sharing details about the roadmap prepared for the development of 500 tribal villages in Odisha, the Minister said, “There are 64 tribal communities living in Odisha. Unfortunately, the former BJD government never worked for the betterment of the tribes.”

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“As per our vision, we will try to safeguard their tradition and ensure proper road connectivity, and provisions are also there for drinking water and including the youth of the tribal communities to the mainstream by providing necessary training,” Naik added.