The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised a virtual event on today to celebrate 7 years of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), which was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 25^th June 2015. The event was presided by Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and attended by senior officials of the Ministry, Principal Secretaries of States/UTs, MDs of States/UTs and stakeholders from Central and State Governments.

The seventh anniversary celebrations highlighted the important initiatives implemented under PMAY-U Mission, which is one of the largest urban housing programmes in the world. At the outset, a video depicting the glorious 7 years journey of PMAY-U was showcased depicting how the Mission is fulfilling the dream of a pucca house for millions of Indians.

An e-Book encapsulating achievements of the Mission was then released by Secretary, MoHUA. The book takes the readers through the initiatives and reforms that have been undertaken by the Mission to transform the urban landscape of India and more importantly, the impact it has had on the lakhs of beneficiaries of PMAY-U, who are proud owners of a pucca house with all basic amenities. The e-Book can be downloaded from PMAY-U website (https://pmay-urban.gov.in/).

At the event, winners of Khushiyon Ka Aashiyana Short Film Contest were also declared. The contest was launched by MoHUA as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. It was open to PMAY-U beneficiaries, students, youths, civil society organisations, institutions and individual/groups above 18 years of age, during the period 1^st July 2021 to 30^th September 2021. The broad theme was ‘Transforming Human Lives in Urban Landscape’ through PMAY-U mission.

The contest received an overwhelming response from across India, especially from PMAY-U beneficiaries, who enthusiastically participated in the competition by sharing their life transforming experiences through films made by themselves. A total of 34 participants have been selected under three categories for recognition. The winners of the contest will get a cash prize and a certificate of recognition. The 1^st Prize carries a cash reward of ₹ 25,000, 2^nd prize ₹ 20,000 and the 3^rd prize ₹ 12,500. The winners’ names have been uploaded on PMAY-U website.

PMAY-U field inspection module in dashboard was also launched on the occasion. The purpose is to assist visitors to inspect PMAY-U project sites/houses construction by beneficiaries with the help of just a mobile phone. The module can be used by the Ministry, Central Nodal Agencies, PMU members, State officials and respective SLTCs/CLTCs staff.

Addressing the event, Secretary, MoHUA, said that in the seven years of implementation of PMAY-U, with the concerted efforts put in by everyone associated with the Mission, a lot of achievements have been made and some more have to be fulfilled. Shri Joshi urged the States/UTs to expedite construction work in their respective regions to fulfil the target of Housing for All. “I am hopeful everyone will work together and achieve the target,” he added.

In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Housing for All’, With a total investment of ₹ 8.31 Lakh Crore PMAY-U has so far sanctioned 122.69 lakh, out of which more than 1 crore houses have been grounded and over 61 lakh houses have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries. Owing to the construction work under PMAY-U, 423 Lakh MT Cement and 96 Lakh MT Steel has been consumed while 239 Lakh jobs have been created.

Over the years, various technological and reformative measures have been taken by the Ministry to transform the urban landscape of India. Six Light House Projects (LHPs) under Global Housing Technology Challenge India (GHTC-India) is one such initiative that is promoting globally available construction technologies that are sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient to enable a paradigm shift in affordable housing. The LHPs showcase the best of new-age alternate global technology in housing construction sector. The project in Chennai has been completed in all respects and was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 26^th May 2022. LHPs in Rajkot, Indore, Lucknow, Ranchi and Agartala are currently in the making.

MoHUA has also launched Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs), a sub-scheme under PMAY-U for urban migrants/poor. Under Model 1, a total of 5,478 existing government-funded vacant houses have been converted into ARHCs in Chandigarh, Gujarat (Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat), Rajasthan (Chittorgarh) and in Jammu. Proposals for converting 7,483 vacant houses into ARHCs has been processed in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. Under Model 2, 80,273 new ARHC units with TIG of Rs 178.28 Crore have been sanctioned for construction by Public/Private entities. Meanwhile, construction of 22,689 new ARHC units are in progress in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

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