Parliament Question: Low occupancy of PMAY houses

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 225 ANSWERED ON 02/02/2026 LOW OCCUPANCY OF PMAY HOUSES 225. SMT. SAGARIKA GHOSE: Will the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs be pleased to state : (a) total number of houses completed under PMAY-Urban that remain vacant as of the current date; (b) breakdown of unoccupied units by PMAY-U vertical; (c) principal causes for this non-occupancy; (d) the number of these unoccupied units to which allotment has been made; (e) the average time since allotment for these units; (f) the projected financial cost to the treasury of these unutilized houses; and (g) whether there is any mechanism to recover or repurpose these units? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS (SHRI TOKHAN SAHU) (a) to (g): ‘Land’ and ‘Colonization’ are State subjects. Therefore, schemes related to housing for their citizens are implemented by States/Union Territories (UTs). However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) supplements the efforts of States/UTs by providing Central assistance under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) since 25.06.2015 to provide pucca houses with basic civic amenities to eligible urban households across the country. The scheme is implemented through four verticals i.e., Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) and Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). Based on the learning from the experiences of implementation of PMAY-U, MoHUA has revamped the scheme and launched PMAY-U 2.0 ‘Housing for All’ Mission with effect from 01.09.2024 for implementation in urban areas across country to support 1 crore additional eligible beneficiaries in next five years. PMAY-U & PMAY-U 2.0 are demand-driven schemes. Selection of beneficiaries, formulation of projects under different verticals, execution of projects including allotment and ensuring occupancy of completed houses are carried out by the respective States/Union Territories (UTs). Based on the project proposals submitted by States/UTs, 122.28 lakh houses have been sanctioned under the scheme, 114.84 lakh houses have been grounded, 97.02 lakh houses have been completed and 94.60 lakh have been occupied as on 22.01.2026. All unoccupied houses are in AHP/ISSR verticals only. Occupancy of AHP/ISSR houses is an important concern raised with States/UTs during review meetings. The principal reasons for non-occupancy, as reported by States/UTs, include incomplete basic infrastructure; reluctance of beneficiaries to relocate away from existing livelihood opportunities and social networks; financial constraints in meeting the beneficiary contribution; and delays in documentation and allotment by the implementing agencies. As per the scheme guidelines, it is responsibility of States/UTs to provide on-site infrastructure such as internal roads, water supply, sewerage/septage, drainage and external electrification from their own resources or through convergence with other schemes. The completion of AHP/ISSR houses and their occupancy is a continuous phenomenon. The reasons of unoccupancy vary from project to project and state to state. States are being continuously advised/motivated to expedite allotment, provision of infrastructure and ensure occupancy whenever necessary by taking proactive steps. *****