Hitting out at the previous Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged that it had no interest in constructing houses for the poor and created hindrances in the implementation of the central housing scheme.
He said before 2017, '18,000 houses were approved for Uttar Pradesh for construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana but not even 18 houses were built by the previous government'.
"There was money, there was sanction but those who were running the government were creating hindrance as they did not want to construct houses," the PM said.
On the other hand, the Yogi Adityanath government has 'completed nine lakh houses under the scheme and 14 lakh are under construction', Modi said, reeling out comparative figures.
Addressing 'New Urban India Conclave', Modi said his government has made three crore poor families 'lakhpati' under this scheme by providing them houses.
The prime minister stressed there was a massive increase in the number of houses constructed under PMAY in his regime.
"More than 1.13 crore housing units have been approved in the cities and, out of these, more than 50 lakh houses have already been built and handed over to the poor," he said, adding before 2014 only 13 lakh houses were approved under the programme.
He emphasised that the government has made a very serious effort to overcome the problems and challenges of the urban middle class and the law establishing the Real Estate Regulatory Authority is a major step.
"RERA has helped in getting the entire housing sector out of the mistrust and fraud and has helped and empowered all stakeholders," he said.
The PM said urban bodies are also saving about Rs 1,000 crore every year by installing LED street lights.
"Now this amount is being used for other development works. Use of LEDs has also greatly reduced the electricity bill of the people living in cities," he said.
The prime minister said in India in the last 6-7 years there has been a huge transformation in the urban sector due to technology.
"Technology is the basis of the Integrated Command and Control Centres that are running in more than 70 cities of the country. Today, we will have to say 'Pahle App' - Technology First'," the PM said while mentioning the culture of Lucknow city.
Modi said under the PM Svanidhi Yojana, street vendors are linked with banks and through it aid of more than Rs 2,500 crore has been given to more than 25 lakh beneficiaries.
"More than 7 lakh beneficiaries of UP have taken advantage of Svanidhi Yojana," he said, complimenting the vendors for promoting digital transactions.
He said Metro service is rapidly expanding to major cities across the country.
"In 2014, the Metro service used to run on less than 250 km route length, today the Metro is running in about 750 km route length. Work is going on in the country on more than 1,000 kilometres of Metro tracks now," he added.
Mentioning the state government's plan to light 7.5 lakh 'diyas' (earthen lamp) in Ayodhya on this Diwali, Modi asked the Yogi Adityanath government to ensure two such lamps are lit in each of the nine lakh houses already given to the beneficiaries under the PM Awas Yojana in the state on that day.
The prime minister also inaugurated 'Azadi@75 -New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape' conference-cum-expo in Lucknow.
He digitally handed over keys of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) houses to 75,000 beneficiaries in 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh and interacted virtually with beneficiaries of the scheme in Uttar Pradesh.
The PM interacted with three beneficiaries -- Vimlesh of Agra, Ram Janki of Kanpur and Babita of Lalitpur -- asked how their lives changed after they got houses under the scheme.
He asked Vimlesh to take advantage of government schemes and educate her children, especially her daughters.
Interacting with Ram Janki, Modi asked her to increase digital transactions in her business.
He enquired from Babita about her livelihood and her experience with the scheme and said he would ask Yogiji (CM Adityanath) to give him a 'chance' to have food at her place.
The prime minister also inaugurated or laid the foundation of 75 urban development projects of Uttar Pradesh under Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT, and flagged off 75 buses under FAME-II for seven cities -- Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Ghaziabad.
He released a Coffee Table Book encompassing 75 projects implemented under various flagship missions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
The prime minister also announced the setting up of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chair in Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Hardeep Puri, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Kaushal Kishore, UP Governor Anandiben Patel and CM Yogi Adityanath were present on the occasion.
