Lok Sabha Question No. 4290 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: Safety Hazards in PMAY Housing
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Tanuj Punia, Dr. Kadiyam Kavya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4290 ANSWERED ON 19/08/2025

## SAFETY HAZARDS IN PMAY HOUSING

## 4290. Shri TanujPunia:

Dr. KadiyamKavya:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of incidents of poor-quality construction  and  electrical  safety  hazards  in  houses  built under the Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana - Gramin (PMAY-G);
- (b) if  so,  the details of such incidents reported since 2021, State and year-wise;
- (c) whether the Ministry has conducted any safety audits or thirdparty evaluations of PMAY-G houses post-occupancy, especially in flood and monsoon-prone areas; and
- (d) the  corrective  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure structural  safety,  safe  electrification,  and  accountability  of implementing agencies in the scheme?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

(a) & (b): The  Pradhan  MantriAwaasYojana-Gramin  (PMAY-G)  was launched on 1st April, 2016 to achieve the objective of 'Housing For All'  a  total  target  of  4.95  crore  houses  is  set  under  PMAY-G.  One time  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  eligible  rural  households and houses are constructed by beneficiaries themselves. The focus of PMAY-G is on construction of quality houses by the beneficiaries using  local  materials,  appropriate  house  designs  and  trained  rural masons.

As per Framework for Implementation (FFI) of PMAY-G, there is a  grievance  redressal  mechanism  set  up  at  different  levels  of administration viz., Gram Panchayat, Block, District and the State. An official of the State Government is to be designated at each level to ensure disposal of grievances to the satisfaction of the complainant.  The  official who  is  designated  at  each  level is

responsible  for  disposing  off  the  grievance  /  complaint  within  a period  of  15  days  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  grievance  /

complaint.

There  is  also  a  procedure  of  lodging  of  complaints  on  the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)  portal  (pgportal.gov.in)  by  the  public.  The  complaints received in the Ministry of Rural Development through CPGRAMS or otherwise  are  forwarded  to  the  respective  State  Governments/ Union Territory (Union Territory) Administrations for redressal of the grievance. Apart from this, there are mechanisms like IGRS and CM helpline at the State Level for grievance redressal.

- (c): The PMAY-G is a beneficiary led scheme wherein the house is constructed  by  the  beneficiary  himself/herself  or  under  his/her supervision.  The scheme is monitored very closely at all levels. The details  of  studies  conducted  for  evaluation  of  the  scheme  are  as under :-
- I. 'Evaluation of Governance Parameters of Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana -Gramin' by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP)

A three phased study on "Evaluation of Governance Parameters of Pradhan  MantriAwaasYojana  -  Gramin"  was  conducted  by  NIPFP which also included impact assessment of Direct Benefit Transfer in reduction  of  leakages.  The  main  findings  of  the  evaluation  report are as under:

- i.
- Average  number  of  days  taken  for  completion  of  PMAYG houses was 314 days which is reduced to 114 days in 2017-18.
- Increased  demand  for  the  construction-related  materials  has
- ii. generated additional jobs in the economy.
- iii. There is a significant increase in the mean expenditures which is  mostly  driven  by  an  increased  expenditure  on  food  items postPMAY-G as compared to the pre-PMAY-G house indicating an improved living standard.
- iv. A  considerable  reduction  in  open  defecation  post-PMAY-G house has been observed due to construction of toilets leading to improved health status of the PMAY-G household members.
- v. There has been a significant increase in the use of LPG gas among PMAY-G households.

## II.  'Impact  Assessment  of  PMAY-G'  by  National  Institute  of  Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR)

The study was conducted by NIRD &PR  to assess to what extent were  the  program  objectives  met  with  regard  to  improving  the physical  conditions  of  the  target  population;  and  socio-economic improvements experienced by the target population, as a result of owning a new house. It was conducted in three states viz. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal (Covering 24 Gram Panchayats in six  districts,  interviewing  1382  PMAY-G  beneficiaries). The  main findings of the evaluation report are as under:

- i. PMAY-G house has decreased the burden of maintenance.
2. house
- ii. PMAY-G has made significant impact on the lives of beneficiaries - both in terms of physical facilities provided and subject well-being.
- iii. PMAY-G  have slightly reduced congestion in houses providing two or more rooms.
5. by
- iv. On  indicators  such  as  social  status,  self-worth,  confidence level,  feeling  of  ownership,  feeling  of  safety  &  security,  selfperceived  improvement  in  health,  overall  quality  of  life,  and satisfaction  about  the  new  house,  PMAY-G  beneficiaries  feel much better, compared to the beneficiaries who are waitlisted under PMAY-G i.e. the beneficiaries who have not yet received the PMAY-G house.

## III.  NITI  Aayog  -  'Evaluation  of  CSS  Scheme  -  Rural  Development Sector' in respect of PMAY-G - 2020-21 :

Under the evaluation study sponsored by Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of NITI Aayog, a detailed scheme level analysis  of  the  6  selected Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  (CSS): Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan MantriAwaasYojanaGramin (PMAY-G), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), DeendayalAntyodayaYojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission (DAY-NRLM), Pradhan Mantri  Gram  SadakYojana  (PMGSY)  and Shyama Prasad MukherjiRurban Mission (SPMRM) was done. Each of these  schemes  has  been  evaluated  using  the  REESI+E  framework against  the  Relevance,  Effectiveness,  Efficiency,  Sustainability, Impact and Equity. Under the study, the performance of PMAY-G has been  assessed  on  cross  sectional  themes  like  accountability  and transparency, gender mainstreaming, use of IT, reforms and

regulations  etc. The  main  findings  of  the  evaluation  report  are  as under:

- i. Ease of living of beneficiaries is enhanced due to construction of the house. It has led improvements in standard of living with construction of house.
2. PMAY-G has been able to  ensure  efficient  use  of  technology for smooth implementation of scheme. Geo-tagging of houses, house  quality  review  module,  tech-savvy  financial  modules
- ii. leverage quite well on technology.
- iii. Gender Mainstreaming is actively encouraged under PMAY-G. Providing house in the name of female beneficiaries, allocation of house to transgender people, capacity building of women to become AwaasMitras contribute towards gender mainstreaming within the scheme.
- iv. Satisfaction  of  beneficiaries  towards  the  application  process was positive, with significant assistance and support provided.
6. (d): The  Government  has  taken  several  corrective  measures  to maintain  the  quality  of  construction  of  houses  and  to  ensure structural  safety  in  the  Pradhan  MantriAwasYojana-Gramin (PMAYG):-
- i. The beneficiaries are being assisted in house construction by States/UTs with a bouquet of house design typologies inclusive of disaster resilient features that are suitable to their local geo-climatic conditions, cultural preferences and availability of construction material.
- ii. States/ UTs have also been asked to take necessary steps to ensure the sustained availability of good quality construction
9. materials.
- iii. The  State/UT  may  tap  into  CSR  funding  /  assistance  and funding from bilateral/multilateral agencies to promote environment friendly green construction designs, technologies and materials.
- iv. The Gram Panchayats may facilitate beneficiaries in accessing  materials  required  for  construction  at  reasonable rates and help in identification of trained masons.
- v. Further,  Self-Help  Groups  (SHG)  can  undertake  production  of quality building materials  for  supplying  the  same  to  the beneficiaries of PMAY-G at reasonable rates.
- vi. PMAY-G converges with other government schemes to provide additional support for house construction, including assistance for toilet construction and employment opportunities, etc.

- vii. Training  to  Rural  Masons  under  Rural  Mason  Training  (RMT) programme to make available pool of trained rural masons for faster construction of quality houses.

The  technology-based  solutions  are  also  being  used  under  the scheme  to  maximize  transparency  and  accountability  to  ensure sanctity in the process right from the identification to completion of the houses as per the detailed below:

- i. Regular  conducting  of  Social  Audits,  monitoring  by  National Level Monitors (NLM) for accountability and transparency.
- ii. Micro  monitoring  of  house  sanction  and  completion  using latest PMAY-G Dashboard and other IT tools & technologies.
- iii. Awaas+ 2024 app- a unique app specially designed under the Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), having features  of  assisted  survey  through  pre-registered  surveyors, housing  technology  selection,  face  authentication,  Aadhar based e-KYC, data capture of household, conditions of existing house, time stamped,  and  geo  tagged  photo capture of existing house proposed site of construction. The app works in online as well as offline mode. 'Self-Survey' facility is available for eligible household in Awaas+2024 app Survey for next phase of PMAYG (2024-29).
- iv. Usage of AI/ML model to curb fraudulent activity and provide information of possible malpractices.
- v. Recommendation  System  -  This  module  identifies  various house attributes such as pucca wall, pucca roof, kutcha wall, kutcha  roof,  logo,  window,  door,  and  person  in  the  uploaded photos of a completed house and recommends  a final photograph for approval.
- vi. e-KYC App - The app is integrated with Aadhaar and uses AIenabled face authentication technology to conduct verification of PMAY-G beneficiaries.
- vii. Liveliness  Detection:  Eye  Blink/  Motion  detection  feature  in Awaas App for identification of the beneficiaries.
- viii. 100% Aadhaar-Based Payments: Directly transferred to beneficiaries' accounts.

*****