Chandigarh,
The construction of houses for the poor under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) is moving at a snail’s pace in Haryana.

Under the scheme, the Centre has been informed about the demand of about 2 lakh houses in 80 statutory towns in the state, envisaging an investment of Rs 1,743 crore. Of this, the Centre is to pay Rs 375 crore.

However, only 85 projects have been sanctioned for the construction of 24,980 houses so far and out of which only 720 houses have been completed. Further, the state has submitted no proposal to the Centre under the In-situ Slum Rehabilitation (ISSR) component despite a huge potential in view of 3.3 lakh slum households (Census 2011).

Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri was here today to review the progress of flagship programmes of his ministry—Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM). He asked the state authorities to expedite the completion of sanctioned houses and fast-track proposals for additional demands, particularly for the poor and slum-dwellers.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain along with senior officers of the departments concerned attended the meeting.

Puri seemed happy with Haryana’s performance in the Swachh Bharat Mission. “Haryana is a certified open-defecation free state and needs to be lauded for this achievement. The state has achieved 100 per cent door-to-door collection of garbage in 966 of 1,475 wards. However, it is processing only 3 per cent of the waste generated. The state needs to take steps to process all the waste being produced,” Puri emphasised.

Under the DAY-NULM, the state has achieved 64 per cent of the target of training of candidates in the current year. Only 8 per cent of these trained persons could be suitably placed.

Puri, while speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, said that the Centre had sanctioned 60 smart projects worth Rs 2,342 crore for Karnal and Faridabad, the two smart cities of the state. The projects include rejuvenation of the Badhkal Lake and Barahi Talab in Faridabad to improve the environment in these cities and also provide more leisure facilities.