240 per cent increase in urban house approval under NDA govt

The BJP-led NDA government has approved construction of 45.86 lakh houses in urban areas since it came to power in 2014, recording an increase of around 240 per cent as compared to that sanctioned in the UPA government's 10-year tenure, as per official data.

According to the housing and urban affairs ministry data said around 13.45 lakh houses were approved during the UPA I and II under two schemes - Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY).

Quoting the data, a senior official said after the NDA government came to power in 2014, 45.86 lakh houses have been sanctioned under this flagship programme -- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

Under the PMAY (U), the government aims to construct around 1.2 crore houses for urban poor by 2022.

The central assistance approved by the UPA government was to the tune of Rs 20,303 crore for construction of 13.45 lakh houses for the poor, while the NDA government has approved Rs 70,716 crore for construction of sanctioned 45.86 lakh houses so far, according to the data.

Construction of 8.04 lakh houses were completed in the UPA's regime, while as many as 7.25 lakh houses, including the houses left under the JNNURM and RAY, were constructed since the NDA government came to power in 2014, the official said quoting the data.

The UPA government during its 10-year rule released Rs 17,989 crore for construction of houses, while the NDA government has released Rs 25,264 crore for construction of houses for urban poor, he added.

The comments came in the backdrop of Congress MP K C Venugopal attacking the government over the implementation of the scheme, claiming that the nationalised banks were not giving loans to the poor and PMAY was "failing".

However, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had refuted the lawmaker's claim, saying that scheme was a "roaring success" and the government's aim of providing houses to all urban poor will be achieved before 2022.