Assam’s flood-hit families looking to rebuild could get fresh housing support, with the Centre approving new homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and assuring additional houses for flood-affected areas.Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday met Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who handed him the approval document for new PMAY homes involving an investment of nearly Rs 5,000 crore.Chouhan also assured Sarma that additional PMAY houses would be sanctioned for flood-affected areas, helping people rebuild at the earliest."Deeply grateful to Hon’ble Union Minister Shri @ChouhanShivraj Ji for the priority and support he continues to extend to Assam," the chief minister said in a post on X."In today’s meeting, he formally handed over the approval for 3.8 lakh new homes under PM Awas Yojana, involving an investment of nearly Rs 5,000 crore", Sarma said.The Centre will also extend further support for housing in Assam’s tea garden areas, according to the chief minister.

Rs 139 crore sanctioned to boost farming

Housing was not the only support discussed during the meeting. Sarma said he also received a sanction letter for Rs 139 crore under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

The funds are aimed at boosting agricultural investment and promoting sustainable farming.The chief minister expressed his "sincere gratitude," on behalf of the people of Assam, to Chouhan for his swift decisions and for standing firmly with the people of the state during the recent devastating floods.

What PM Awas Yojana aims to provide

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was launched on June 25, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It aims to construct about 2 crore houses in the country from 2015 to 2022.The scheme covers homeless citizens, poor urban people and citizens belonging to the EWS and LIG categories.Its mission is to address the housing needs of the urban poor, including slum dwellers, through four programme verticals: slum rehabilitation of slum dwellers with participation from private developers using land as a resource; affordable housing for weaker sections through credit-linked subsidy; affordable housing in partnership with public and private sectors along with subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction.

Housing needs under pressure

Housing is one of the basic social conditions that determine the quality of life and welfare of people and places. Rapid urbanisation has placed considerable strain on housing, services and land.According to UN-Habitat, by 2030, approximately 3 billion people, or about 40% of the world’s population, will need proper housing and access to basic infrastructure and services such as water and sanitation systems. This translates into the need to complete 96,150 housing units per day with serviced and documented land from now until 2030.