Over 1.75 mn houses constructed under PMAY-U during Covid-19 pandemic: Puri

Over 10.75 lakh houses have been constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) during the COVID-19 pandemic so far, and Uttar Pradesh tops the chart with more than 2.55 lakh such units, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said under PMAY-U, construction of 43,32,651 houses have been completed till date.

In Uttar Pradesh, 2,55,227 houses have been constructed under the ambitious scheme since March last year, followed by 1,25,108 in Gujarat, 1,10,633 in Maharashtra and 58,427 in West Bengal, Puri said.

However, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh have constructed 21 housing units each during the same period, he added.

"Under the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas YojanaUrban (PMAY-U), construction of a total of 43,32,651 houses have been completed so far. This includes 10,75,474 houses constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 2020 to till date)," the minister said.

In Delhi, 5,263 houses have been constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic under the scheme.

According to the ministry, a total of 1,10,70,970 houses have been sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (U), of which 74,83,896 are at various stages of construction and 43,32,651 are complete or delivered.

Replying to another question, the minister said sanctioned houses under PMAY-U involve central assistance of Rs 1,78,076 crore, of which Rs 90,538 crore have already been released to states, union territories and central nodal agencies.