'PMAY(U) to generate 3.65 crore jobs in construction of all sanctioned houses'
New Delhi: Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Hardeep Singh Puri on the occasion of 5th Anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Smart Cities Mission (SCM), and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), said the country has undertaken one of the most comprehensive planned urbanization programmes in the history of the world. 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, launched in May this year has focused on providing relief as well as help to farmers, cottage industries, home industry, small-scale industries, MSMEs – which are the means of livelihood for crores of people who were adversely impacted by the lockdown measures.
The minister said that PMAY(U) has sanctioned 1.05 crore houses against demand of 1.12 cr houses across 4,550 urban cities. So far, 65 lakh houses have been grounded and 35 lakh have been delivered. The total investment approved is Rs. 6.37 lakh crore and an estimated 3.65 crore jobs would be generated in construction of all sanctioned houses of which about 1.65 crore jobs would have already been generated in construction of houses grounded so far.
"With respect to consumption of cement and steel, it is estimated that 692 lakh MT Cement and 158 lakh MT steel would be consumed in the construction of all sanctioned houses. So far, nearly 370 lakh MT cement and 84 lakh MT steel would have already been consumed in houses grounded. In line with vision of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat', government has announced Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) for migrant labourers and urban poor to provide ease of living, access to dignified and planned for middle income group (MIG), credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) has been extended till March 2021. This will benefit around 2.5 lakh middle income families in mobilising an investment of Rs 70,000 crore for financial year 2020-2021.The houses built under PMAY(U) and earlier schemes of MoHUA have served as a boon in the fight against COVID-19. Presently more than 22,000 houses are being dedicatedly used as COVID-19 facility units," he said.
The minister said that under AMRUT, state annual action plans (SAAPs) worth Rs 77,640 crore were approved and projects worth Rs 75,829 crore grounded so far. Projects worth Rs 10,654 crore were completed and Rs 65,175 crore are in advanced stages of implementation.
"Rs 39,011 crore allocated for drinking water supply projects, and Rs 32,546 crore for sewerage and septage projects and concerted effort was made at national level to provide water to about 1.39 crore households and sewerage/septage services to about 1.45 crore households. 79 lakh household water tap connections and 45 lakh sewer connections have been provided, including in slums and low-income habitations. The mission has helped cities to undertake a set of 11 reforms comprising 54 milestones aimed at strengthening capacities of city level institutions for effective governance and citizen service delivery. Additionally, 76 lakh streetlights replaced with energy efficient LED streetlights," he said.
He further said the ministry has so far provided 79 lakh household water tap connections and 45 lakh sewer connections in the country.
"Seventy-six lakh conventional streetlights have been replaced with energy-efficient LED lights which have led to energy savings of 167 crore units per annum, resulting in a reduction in CO2 emission by 13 lakh tonnes per annum. The integrated command and control centres (ICCC) developed under the mission have helped cities in their fight against COVID-19. Forty-seven operational ICCCs became war-rooms and have played an effective role in COVID response. 5,151 projects worth over Rs 2 lakh crore were identified in 100 smart cities. The mission has tendered around 4,700 projects worth Rs 1,66,000 crore which is about 81 per cent of the total projects proposed," Puri said.
