Amid India’s slow economic growth, the government has today said that the construction activity involved in the PMAY scheme has had a multiplier effect in employment generation. More than one crore new jobs have been generated through forward and backward linkages with about 250 auxiliary industries like steel, brick kilns, cement, paint, hardware, sanitary, etc, said a statement by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. The move has also said to be impacting the livelihood, transport sector, skill development, horticulture, landscape development sector, etc. A major reason behind the country’s slowdown is believed to be weak demand and consumption, which the ministry said to have got cushion by the PMAY-Urban scheme.
The government has put a high investment in the affordable housing segment. The houses sanctioned so far under the scheme involve an investment of about Rs 5.70 lakh crore with central assistance of Rs 1.6 lakh crore. “Due to the investment being made in the scheme, around 568 LMT cement and 130 LMT were required for the sanctioned houses, out of which 178 LMT cement and 40 LMT steel has already been consumed in the completed houses,” said the statement.
At present, projects of about Rs 3 lakh crore is ongoing and by the time mission accomplishes its target of 1.12 crores houses, the entire activity is expected to trigger investment of over Rs 7 lakh crore. The scheme was aimed at fulfilling a validated demand of providing 1.12 crore houses in urban areas, out of which 1 crore houses have been already sanctioned, said Hardeep Sinh Puri, MoS, Independent Charge, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. The statement also claims that Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), is one of the largest affordable housing programmes in the world.
