1,008 newly built PMAY houses to be handed over to beneficiaries in Hubballi-Dharwad in May

Hubballi: The Karnataka Slum Development Board is set to hand over 1,008 newly built houses to beneficiaries in Hubballi-Dharwad in the first week of May, as part of a larger plan to construct 1,300 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Speaking to the media after inspecting the housing site at Mantur Road in Hosayellapur village, the minister said this is part of the government’s commitment to providing dignified housing to the underprivileged.

"This year alone, 42,345 houses will be handed over to beneficiaries, compared to 36,789 last year," he said.

Under PMAY, a total of 1,80,253 houses have been sanctioned for Karnataka through the Slum Development Board. Each unit costs approximately ₹7.5 lakh. Of this, the Centre contributes ₹1.5 lakh per house, while the State provides ₹1.2 lakh for general beneficiaries and ₹2 lakh for SC/ST beneficiaries. However, due to delays in fund releases—only ₹310 crore of the required ₹7,400 crore has been released so far—construction was hampered, the minister explained.

He pointed out that during the previous Congress government, more than 48,000 houses had been sanctioned under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana, with a proposed funding of ₹2,100 crore, though only ₹109 crore was released at the time.

Recalling an earlier initiative, Khan noted that in 2016 the Chief Minister had announced a plan to build 1 lakh homes in Bengaluru for street vendors and auto drivers. Of this, 47,000 homes were tendered and initiated on 1,023 acres of land allocated under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana. These homes are being constructed at a cost of ₹7–8 lakh each, with both Centre and State contributing ₹1.5 lakh each. Beneficiaries can avail of bank loans to cover the balance amount.

Khan said that homes built under the second phase of the current scheme will be inaugurated via video conference by the Chief Minister in the presence of local legislators and ministers.