Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week handed over keys to 75,000 beneficiaries of a flagship housing scheme in 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh and kicked off 75 urban development projects in the state, as per an official statement.
The houses were given under the scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban,’ that seeks to resolve housing shortage in urban areas, including for slum dwellers. The scheme aims to ensure proper houses to all eligible urban households by the year 2022, when India completes 75 years of Independence.
Modi also flagged off 75 buses under a scheme to promote electric mobility for seven cities including Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Ghaziabad. The prime minister said the situation where all the properties are in the name of the men of the house needs some correction and towards this, more than 80% of the houses under the PM Awas Yojna are being registered in the name of the women or they are joint owners.
He said 30 million urban poor families who lived in slums and did not have a pucca roof have got the opportunity to become millionaires. “Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, about 30 million houses have been built in the country, you can guess the cost of them. These people have become lakhpatis", the statement said quoting Modi.
The prime minister pointed out that under the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, more than 900,000 housing units were handed over to the urban poor and 14,00,000 units are under various stages of construction. These houses are equipped with modern amenities, he said. Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in 2022.
The government has so far given £250 million as aid to more than 25,00,000 beneficiaries of a scheme meant for street vendors called ‘Svanidhi Yojana’. Of this, more than 700,000 beneficiaries are from Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.
Modi said metro rail service is rapidly expanding to major cities across the country. In 2014, the metro service used to run on less than 250 km route length, today it is running in about 750 km route length. Work is progressing on more than 1,000 km of metro tracks as of now, the statement added.
