The BJP-led central government’s flagship scheme ‘Prime Minister Awas Yojana’ (PMAY) under the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ mission is faltering in Punjab with several beneficiaries under the ‘beneficiary-led component’ yet to receive funds more than a year after their applications were approved. 

“I was to receive Rs 1.5 lakh in three construction-linked installments of Rs 50,000 each. I demolished my old kutcha house and completed plinth-level construction. But I am yet to receive the first installment. In the absence of funds, I had to leave the construction midway. Now, my family is living in a makeshift house,” said Davinder Singh (36), a daily wager from Zirakpur in Mohali. 

Majority of the nearly 1 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme are facing the similar predicament. Manjeet Kaur (40), a single mother and a housemaid living in a kutcha house in Zirakpur, said, “We made a mistake by trusting the government. We didn’t have money to construct a house but with this scheme I hoped my children will get a permanent roof over their head. But, now, things have turned worse for us.” 

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