Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the scheme in June 2015 under ‘Housing for All’ Mission to provide central assistance.
Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party ruled Punjab has surpassed Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Haryana in construction of houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) Housing For All Mission.
According to the figures of allotment of funds to both the states provided by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), under the Right to Information Act, to a Punjab based social activist advocate Kamal Anand,Punjab has got 1,32,235 houses sanctioned for beneficiaries under this scheme with a fund allocation of Rs 1,825.78 crores against Haryana’s 1,15,034 houses sanctioned with Rs 1,673.50 crore since the scheme was launched in 2015-16.
However, political impression could also be seen on the release of funds as Punjab had got the maximum Rs 506.41 crore in 2020-21 for construction of 46,974 houses ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, whereas Haryana also got the highest allocations of Rs 368.75 crores for the construction of 77,548 houses during the election year of 2018-19, as the scheme could help in reaping the political benefits.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the scheme in June 2015 under ‘Housing for All’ Mission to provide central assistance to implementing agencies through states and union territories (UTs). Central assistance of Rs 1,64,699 crores has been released under the different categories, including In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR), Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) with public or private sector, and Beneficiary-led individual house construction and enhancement (BLC).
The figures revealed that the highest amount, Rs 26,411 crores have been released to Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rs 23,800 crore to Andhra Pradesh, Rs 19,805 crores to Gujarat, Rs 19,323 crores to Maharashtra, Rs 15,284 crores to Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu got Rs 10,134 crore.
While West Bengal got Rs 7,866 crore, Bihar got only Rs 3,368 crores, Kerala got Rs 2,330 crores, Odisha got Rs 2,479 crores and Karnataka got Rs 7,168 crore, and allocation to Rajasthan stood at Rs 4,693 crores. The hilly states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand got Rs 202 crore and Rs 940 crores, respectively. Meanwhile, with Rs 2,065.73 crores, Assam is the biggest beneficiary among the eight northeastern states which got Rs 4,863 crores. Meanwhile, Delhi got Rs 692.53 crores and allocation to Jammu and Kashmir stood at Rs 483.48 crores.
Anand said, “There were political allegations that the ruling party at the Centre gives more benefits to the states ruled by the same party, but the figures provide a different picture in Punjab and Haryana, as AAP-led Punjab got more funds that the BJP-ruled Haryana”.
“This also answered the allegations of partiality levelled by Punjab to the Union government”, he added.
However, Anand expressed surprise that the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs did not provide the details of the beneficiaries of this scheme, as the concerned department in a written response to the RTI application said that under PMAY-U, selection and identification of beneficiaries, project formulation and on-ground implementation of the scheme including release of funds to beneficiaries fall under the purview of state and UT governments.
“If they are releasing such huge funds, they must give the date of the beneficiaries and it should be made available in the public domain to ensure more transparency”, he added.
However, the figures of funds allocations also raise questions over the allocations of only Rs 3,368 crores to Bihar and Rs 7,866 crore to West Bengal against Rs 19,805 crore to Gujarat, Rs 19,323 crores to Maharashtra and Rs 15,284 crore to Madhya Pradesh.