Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], October 12 (ANI): On October 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked 24 years of dedicated public service, effective governance, and commitment to the welfare of the poor. To commemorate this milestone, Vikas Saptah is observed every year from October 7 to October 15, with Urban Development Day celebrated on October 12-13, an official statement said.

It is noteworthy that during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Prime Minister launched planned urban development by declaring 2005 as the Urban Development Year. Today, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat is making remarkable strides in the direction of urbanisation.

To accelerate world-class city development, the State Government has declared the year 2025 as the 'Year of Urban Development'. With the vision of providing every poor and lower-middle-class family living in urban areas with a home of their own, the Prime Minister implemented the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) -- a landmark initiative. Today, under the leadership of CM Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat stands as a leading state in the nation in implementing this scheme, the release stated.

PM Modi believes that urban development is not just about infrastructure but about improving the quality of life for every citizen. To make this vision a reality, he launched Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in 2015 to provide housing for the urban poor. Through this scheme, countless families have received their dream homes. So far, over 9.09 lakh houses have been constructed in the state, marking a major milestone in Gujarat's urban development journey, the release added.

Gujarat is the leading state in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The state leads the country in providing interest subsidies on home loans to over 6 lakh beneficiaries under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) component of PMAY (Urban), helping countless families fulfil their dream of owning a home. In addition, under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan announced by the Central Government in 2020, the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme was launched to provide affordable rental housing to the urban poor and migrant workers.

In just three months, Gujarat became the first state to get project approval by converting 393 SUDA-area houses in Surat into rental homes under Model-01 of the scheme. Global Housing Technology - Rajkot in Gujarat is among six locations chosen by the Central Government for the India Light House Project. As part of this initiative, 1,144 EWS-2 type houses, each with a carpet area of 39.77 sq m, have been constructed using monolithic concrete technology, it added.

Gujarat has consistently excelled under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). In 2017, the state earned first place in the Credit Link Subsidy category from the Central Government. In 2019, Gujarat received three additional awards, while three beneficiaries were recognised for Best House Construction under the BLC component. In 2022, the state won awards in seven different categories. Altogether, Gujarat has been honoured with 14 awards under PMAY (Urban) so far.

Building on this success, PMAY-U 2.0 'Housing for All' Mission was launched in September 2024. The scheme plans to construct 1 crore 'pucca houses' across India over the next five years (2024-2029).

Under PMAY (Urban) 2.0, beneficiaries can avail of programs such as Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS), and Affordable Rental Housing (ARH). So far, 29,821 houses have been sanctioned in Gujarat under this initiative, it added. (ANI)