1k houses sanctioned under PMAY 1.0 still incomplete in Ludhiana

Citing reasons, MC official said that some beneficiaries are reluctant in taking the assistance due to compulsory name plate outside house

While applications for the Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Rural 2.0 have already been completed, there are around 1,066 houses in Ludhiana, sanctioned under PMAY 1.0, waiting for the completion. PMAY Rural 2.0 is the next phase of flagship housing scheme, focusing on providing financial assistance for building affordable, quality houses.

Ramesh standing outside his home in Qila Mohalla which was made under PMAY 1.0. (Manish/HT)

In PMAY 1.0, a total of 3,095 applications from areas under Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) were accepted. Out of which, only 2,029 of the sanctioned houses have been completed so far. The applications for the first phase of PMAY were taken in 2018.

MC officials claim that the houses are to be built by the applicants and the financial assistance is only released once they begin construction. “Once the applications are accepted, the beneficiaries are supposed to start construction and only then they can get the financial assistance in four tranches depending upon the stage of construction,” said MC joint commissioner Vineet Kumar.

Under PMAY 1.0, the beneficiaries were entitled to a financial assistance of ₹1.75 lakh, of which ₹25,000 were to be received from the State government. The beneficiaries who applied for the last tranche of the amount in the last four months haven’t received the money yet. According to MC officials, the hold up was due to an issue between the Union and State governments regarding the funds. The last tranche is released once the house is complete and the walls are painted.

Ramesh, who made a home in Qila Mohalla near Daressi is one of the beneficiaries waiting for a tranche of the total assistance. He has so far received ₹1.32 lakh. “I started construction in 2021. I have so far received ₹1.32 lakh rupees. I am still waiting for over ₹40,000,” he said.

Joint commissioner Vineet Kumar also revealed that some beneficiaries were also made reluctant in taking the assistance due to the compulsory name plate outside the house that shows that the house was made under the scheme. “I came across one such case in the city. The applicant, after the application was approved, wasn’t willing to move the case forward. I even met him to convince him to take the sanctioned assistance. But he said that he would not want a plate outside his house saying that he had taken government assistance to build the house,” Kumar said, recalling other similar cases.

The applications for PMAY 2.0 opened in December 2024 and closed in June 2025. During this period, around 1,527 applications were received from Ludhiana. So far, 414 of these have been verified. The vetting is still going for the remaining applications. The applications are vetted to ensure that only those who are eligible and need assistance are accepted. The financial assistance this time has been increased to ₹2.5 lakh.