PM Modi in Valsad, Gujarat. (Express photo by Bhupinder Rana)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat on a one-day tour, on Thursday said that he dreams of a house for every family by 2022. He said that the Centre has chosen 2022 target as the nation will celebrate 75 years of Independence in that year and the housing scheme will make sure that no bribes be paid to avail the benefits.
The prime minister is in Gujarat to inaugurate several projects and attend the convocation ceremony of Gujarat Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar. Follow LIVE Updates
Taking a jibe at the Congress party, he said that there is no place for the system of paying ‘commission’ in his government. The PM also said that in his government, “if Re 1 goes from Delhi, the entire 100 paise reach the house of the poor”. He was taking a dig at former (Congress) prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who had once claimed that if the Centre releases Re 1, only 15 paise reach the poor.
The prime minister was addressing a public gathering at Jujwa village in Gujarat’s Valsad town after witnessing the collective ‘e-gruha pravesh’ (online house warming) of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin).
Under the Centre’s flagship scheme which envisions housing for all, more than one lakh houses have been built in the state. PM Modi’s housing for all promise by 2022 comes a year ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“While talking to women beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, I was watching the houses behind them. Even you would be wondering how such good quality houses were built under the scheme,” Modi said after interacting with some of the beneficiaries in various districts of Gujarat through video conferencing.
“This was made possible because there is no place for the system of paying commission in my government. If one rupee goes from Delhi, the entire 100 paise reach the house of the poor,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
The prime minister said his endeavour is to ensure that every Indian family has its own home by 2022. “Gujarat has taught me a lot. This lesson has taught me to fulfil dreams within a specific time. It is my dream, it is our endeavour to ensure that every Indian family has its own home by 2022,” Modi said.
While referring to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, he said that even as the government has given money, these homes have been built with the “sweat of the family”.
–With PTI inputs