PMAY plans affordable units in 2,508 towns

In a mega housing plan, the Union government has selected 2,508 cities across 26 states under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana' for providing affordable houses to the urban poor, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, adding that according to the scheme guidelines, the houses under the PMAY (U) mission should be designed and constructed to meet the requirement of structural safety against earthquakes, flood, cyclone, and landslide. He added that they should conform to the National Building Code and other relevant Bureau of Indian Standards Codes. The mission also includes a technology sub-mission to facilitate state technologies for adoption of layout designs and building plans suitable for various geo-climatic zones and to deploy disaster resistant and environment friendly technologies. The scheme comes with an aim of constructing more than two crore houses across the nation within a span of seven years.