Govt aims to construct 12lakh houses in FY18 under PMAY scheme

New Delhi: The government has set an ambitious target to construct as many as 12 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in 2017-18, although only 1.49 lakh houses were built under the scheme in 2016-17.

According to a senior government official, under PMAY (Urban), the Centre targets construction of 26 lakh houses in 2018-19, 26 lakh in 2019-20, 30 lakh in 2020-21 and 29.80 lakh in 2021-22.

The official said the delay in land acquisition is the main reason behind the laggardly implementation of the government's flagship scheme PMAY (Urban).

"So far, the proposal for construction of 18.76 lakhs houses have been sanctioned, and funding for construction of 13.06 lakh houses has been issued. But, due to delay in land acquisition, only 1.49 lakh houses have been completed under PMAY (Urban) in 2016-17," the official said.

The government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in June 2015, aiming to ensure housing for all by 2022.