Lucknow, Oct 5 (FN Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the previous government in Uttar Pradesh of not utilising the central sanction for building houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. “Before 2017, the Centre had sanctioned 18,000 houses under the Yojana in the state, but the then state government did not even construct 18 houses,” he said without naming the Samajwadi Party. On the other hand, Modi said the present Yogi Adityanath government did a commendable job by constructing nine lakh houses. Another 14 lakhs are under construction, he said, adding that people should know who worked for the people. The Prime Minister said during the previous dispensation in the state, power supply was provided to areas where politicians went and roads were constructed only on their recommendations. ‘But now things have changed and now every family is getting everything,” Modi said after inaugurating the three-day ‘Azadi 75 – New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Conference-cum-Expo here.
He said around 30 million poor families across the country have become ‘lakhpati’ by getting houses under the PM Awas Yojana. ‘You can guess the cost of the houses. But the opposition would again target me for this achievement,” he said. He also said more than 80 per cent of the houses under the Yojana are owned by women or they are joint owners. ‘Since 2014, the government has approved the construction of more than 1 crore 13 lakh houses in cities under PM Awas Yojana and out of this, more than 50 lakh houses have been built and handed over to the poor,’ he said. Claiming that during Deepawali this year, Ayodhya will light 7.50 lakh diyas, Modi hoped along with Ayodhya, all the 9 lakh PM Awas beneficiaries in UP light at least 2 diyas at their doorstep during the festival. Modi said UP is the land of Lord Ram, Krishna and Buddha and it is the commitment of the BJP government to develop it as a desired by the people. “Our government has made a very serious effort to overcome the problems and challenges of the urban middle class,” he asserted. He also asked UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to speed up the construction work of the projects whose foundation were laid today.
Giving details about the achievements of his government in providing urban facilities, the Prime Minister said under PM Svanidhi Yojana, street vendors are being linked with banks. “Through this scheme, help of more than Rs 2500 crore has been given to more than 25 lakh people. In this too, more than seven lakh people of UP have taken advantage of Svanidhi Yojana,” he added. Modi said that setting up of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act has been such a big step in protecting the rights of the house buyers. “This law has helped in getting the entire housing sector out of mistrust and fraud.” Talking about the LED lights, he said urban bodies are saving about Rs 1,000 crore every year by installing LED street lights and now this amount is being used for other development works. LED lighting has also greatly reduced the electricity bill of the people living in the city, he said.
Modi said technology has brought a big change in the urban sector in India in the last 6-7 years. “Technology is the basis of the Integrated Command and Control Centers running in more than 70 cities of the country today and now every city is equipped with CCTV cameras which has reduced the crime rate.’ He said Metro services are expanding rapidly to major cities across the country. In 2014, the metro used to run on less than 250 km route, while now the metro is being run on about 750 km. Besides work is taking place on more than 1000 km of metro tracks in the country, the Prime Minister said. Modi also inaugurated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chair at the Baba Sahab Bhimrao Ambedkar University here. “Lucknow has given a visionary in the form of Atal ji to the nation.” Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held next year.