Bhubaneswar: In a major push for its rural housing programme, the state govt on Thursday decided to construct 2.92 lakh additional houses under Antyodaya Gruha Yojana and extended the scheme’s tenure by two years till 2029.Announcing the decision, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the move would help the state achieve its goal of providing housing to all eligible families, specifically in the rural areas at the earliest.The state govt has retained the scheme’s overall project cost at Rs 7,550 crore. However, Rs 3,500 crore, earmarked earlier for the repair component, will now be diverted towards the construction of new houses, enabling the expansion of beneficiary coverage.Officials said beneficiaries who had received housing assistance of Rs 48,500 or less, along with other eligible families left out of existing housing schemes, would be covered under the expanded programme.Panchayati raj and drinking water department has been directed to conduct a fresh survey to identify new beneficiaries. Majhi said the revised provisions would ensure that a larger number of poor and deprived households are able to avail the benefits of the scheme and secure permanent housing.Govt has also enhanced incentives for faster completion of the houses. Beneficiaries completing construction within five months will now receive an incentive of Rs 35,000, up from Rs 20,000. Those completing houses within seven months will get Rs 20,000, double the earlier incentive of Rs 10,000.The Antyodaya Gruha Yojana originally targeted the construction of houses for five lakh families. The scheme primarily aims to provide housing support to economically weaker families who were not considered eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and continue to live in vulnerable conditions.
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