According to the statement, Chouhan assured the state that no poor will be deprived of housing under the PMAY-G. “The Central Government is already giving adequate funds to the State Government under public welfare schemes; the present State Government will work seriously in this regard and make good use of the funds,” the ministry stated.

Days before coming to Delhi, Chief Minister Sai wrote two letters to Chouhan, in which he sought the Centre’s approval for 15.18 lakh PMAY-G houses for eligible families in the state. He also urged the Centre to approve 15,000 PMAY-G houses for families of Maoists who have surrendered or are likely to surrender, and families affected by Maoist violence, including those of security personnel killed, under the Special Projects. These 15,000 families are spread across 15 districts affected by Left Wing Extremism, sources said.

Under the framework for implementation of the PMAY-G, which was released in 2022, up to 5 per cent of the targets are reserved for Special Projects, which includes “settlement of surrendered militants and their families”.

The PMAY-G is a flagship Central scheme involving the states that aims to provide pucca houses with a minimum area of 25 sq m with basic amenities to people in rural areas who are homeless or live in kutcha and dilapidated houses. Each beneficiary gets funds up to Rs 1.2 lakh in the plains and Rs 1.3 lakh in hilly states, difficult areas, and tribal and backward districts under the Integrated Action Plan (IAP). The funds are to be split in a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and states, respectively.

The Centre has decided to increase unit cost under the PMAY-G from the existing Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 2 lakh in plain areas, and Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 2.2 lakh in IAP districts/Hilly/ North Eastern States and difficult areas from FY 2024-25.

In 2022, implementation of the PMAY-G was disrupted in Chhattisgarh after the then Bhupesh Baghel government failed to contribute the state’s share in the funding of the scheme. Due to non-release matching funds by the state government, the Centre withdrew its target from the state.

The Centre had set a target of building 2.95 crore PMAY-G houses by 2024, of which 11.76 lakh were to be constructed in Chhattisgarh. The state has been able to complete 10.89 lakh houses until now.

Chhattisgarh’s demand comes at a time when the Centre has announced plans to construct 2 crore more houses under the rural housing scheme. These houses will be over and above the 2.95 crore target.