Thanks to mainly COVID-19 situation, the progress of Maha Awaas Yojana-Gramin has been found ‘unsatisfactory’ on various counts in Nagpur district. Maha Awaas Yojana-Gramin is an initiative to provide pace to Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMAY)-Gramin and State-sponsored rural housing schemes. Rajesh Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has sent a letter in this regard to Nagpur Zilla Parishad a few days ago. In the letter, the senior bureaucrat has pointed out that on six out of 10 counts, Nagpur district’s performance has been ‘unsatisfactory’ for the period between November 2020 and April 5, 2021.

 

 

 

 

Taking cognizance of the letter Yogesh Kumbhejkar, Chief Executive Officer of Nagpur Zilla Parishad has directed Project Director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) to draft a similar letter addressed to all Block Development Officers ‘with same remarks’ in a bid to step up the implementation of the scheme. Maha Awaas Yojana-Gramin covers Centrally-sponsored PMAY-Gramin and State-sponsored rural housing schemes, to not only making available housing units to eligible beneficiaries from rural areas but also to achieve convergence of various Government schemes. The 10 parameters defined under the initiative include: making available land to landless beneficiaries, granting approval to 100 per cent eligible cases as per the target, providing 100 per cent assistance of first instalment to approved housing cases, physical completion of construction of targeted number of housing units, completing delayed housing units, achieving financial targets for houses, completing rural mason training, starting work on demo house, completing Aadhaar seeding of beneficiaries in waiting list, and completing job-card mapping of beneficiaries in Awaas-Plus initiative.

 

As far as making available land to landless beneficiaries is concerned, the achievement has been a lowly 13.3 per cent, under PMAY-Gramin. Besides, achievement under the head ‘granting approval to 100 per cent eligible cases as per the target’ has been 81.3 per cent only under PMAY-Gramin, and 96.4 per cent under State-sponsored scheme. As far as physical completion is concerned, achievement has been only 40.6 per cent in case of PMAY-Gramin and 73 per cent in case of State-sponsored scheme. Under the head of completion of delayed houses, achievement under PMAY-Gramin has been only 37.2 per cent. Under PMAY-Gramin, rural mason training is incorporated. However, in Nagpur district, only 185 out of 790 beneficiaries got trained.

 

Thus, achievement on this count has been a poor 23.4 per cent. On certain counts, the progress has been ‘average’. State-sponsored schemes have four of the above 10 parameters namely: granting approval to 100 per cent eligible cases as per the target, providing 100 per cent assistance of first instalment to approved housing cases, physical completion of construction of targeted number of housing units, and achieving financial targets for houses. On the count of granting approval to 100 per cent eligible cases as per the target, the progress has been found ‘average’, and on remaining three counts the performance has been found ‘satisfactory’.

 

Thus, while the progress of State-sponsored rural housing schemes has been ‘satisfactory’ on three counts and ‘average’ on one count, that of PMAY-Gramin has been ‘unsatisfactory’ on six counts, ‘average’ on three counts, and ‘satisfactory’ on only one count (achieving financial targets for houses). Meanwhile, in another letter, Rural Development Department of State Government has asked DRDA chiefs, and Chief Executive Officer of all Zilla Parishads in Maharashtra to expedite photo-verification at Panchayat Samiti level of housing units completed, and to upload the photographs on Awaas application. Besides, it has asked for expediting completion of housing units of which only minor works are pending. Further, the department has asked the officers to ensure completion of housing units that have been constructed up to lintel level.