On December 8, 2021, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the following proposals:
Cabinet approves continuation of PMAY-G beyond March 2021 till March 2024
The Cabinet approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) beyond March 2021 till March 2024 as per the existing norms. Under this extension the target is to complete the remaining 155.75 lakh houses from the cumulative target of 2.95 crore houses in rural areas.
- The outlay for the construction of remaining houses will be Rs. 2,17,257 crore with Central Share Rs.1,25,106 crore and State Share Rs.73,475 crores.
- There is also an additional requirement of Rs.18,676 Crore towards the interest repayment to NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development).
Key Points:
i.In lieu of this extension, there will be release of additional Rs 45 lakh administrative funds annually from the Central share of Administrative funds (0.3% out of total Administrative fund of 2%) to each smaller State viz. Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, the North Eastern (NE) States except for Assam and Tripura and all Union Territories (UTs) except Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) over and above 1.70 % administrative funds released to said States/UTs.
ii.There will also be continuation of Program Management Unit (PMU) and National Technical Support Agency (NTSA) till FY2023-24.
iii.As on 29th November, 2021, 1.65 crore PMAY-G houses have been constructed out of the total target of 2.95 crore.
iv.It is estimated that 2.02 crore houses will be completed by August 15, 2022. Therefore, to achieve the target of 2.95 crore houses, the scheme needs to be continued till March, 2024.
About Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G):
Launched in 2016, PMAY-G is a revamped rural housing programme namely ‘Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)’ initiated in January 1996. PMAY-G was introduced to boost the “Housing for All” scheme. The main aim of the PMAY-G scheme is to provide pucca houses with some of the basic amenities by 2022.
- This scheme caters to those who do not own a house and people who live in kutcha houses or houses which are severely damaged.
- The minimum size of the houses under the PMAY-G has also been increased to 25 sq. mt. from 20 sq. mt.
- The cost of unit assistance is shared between Central and State Government in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for NE and the Himalayan States.
Cabinet approves Ken-Betwa Interlinking of Rivers Project:
The Cabinet also approved the funding and implementation of Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project with an outlay of Rs 44,605 crore at 2020-21 price levels. It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. It will cover the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP).
- For this, the Central Government will provide a support of 39,317 crore which include Rs.36,290 crore as grant and Rs.3,027 crore as loan.
- It is proposed to be implemented in 8 years with state of the art technology and will generate 103 MW (Mega Watt) hydropower and 27 MW solar power.
What is Ken-Betwa inter-linking of rivers project?
It is the transfer of water from Ken to the Betwa River through the construction of Daudhan Dam Complex in Phase-I; and construction of Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project and Kotha Barrage in Phase-II.
- It also comprehensively provides for environment management and safeguards. For this purpose a landscape management plan is under finalization by Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
Benefits:
i.It will provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha (Hectare) thereby increasing agricultural activities and employment generation; drinking water supply to a population of about 62 lakhs.
ii.It will benefit the water starved Bundelkhand region, spread across the states of MP and UP and mainly benefitting the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of MP; and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi & Lalitpur of UP.
Background:
On the occasion of World Water Day i.e. March 22, 2021, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the states of MP and UP to implement India’s first river interlinking project through inter- state cooperation.
- It seeks to implement the vision of Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee to carry water from areas that have surpluses to drought prone and water deficit areas, through the interlinking of rivers.
Recent Related News:
i.The Union Cabinet has approved Production-linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile Industry and Drone Industry with a budgetary outlay of Rs 26,058 crore.
ii.The Union Cabinet extended the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to the textiles sector to cover and promote textiles for MMF (man-made fibre) apparel, MMF fabrics and ten segments of technical textiles with an outlay of Rs 10,683 crore over a span for 5 years.
Static Points about Rives Betwa and Ken:
i.The river Betwa or Betravati which is also called river Vetrawati in Sanskrit one of the major river basins of Madhya Pradesh (MP). It is a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in MP and flows north-east through MP and Orchha to UP.
ii.Ken River is one of the major rivers in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It is also a tributary of the Yamuna. The river originates near the Village Ahirgawan in Jabalpur District of MP and joins the Yamuna River, near Chilla Village in UP.
