Bhubaneswar, Mar 30: With an aim to ensure pucca house for every rural family in the state, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday launched the Antodaya Gruha Yojana (AGY).

The transformative housing scheme, having a budgetary allocation of Rs 7,550 crores which will be spent over the next three years, was launched in an event held at the Srikrushna Nagar Risigaon field near Bhawanipatna.

The scheme will benefit around 50,000 beneficiaries including houseless families and those living in kutcha houses by providing financial assistance to construct pucca houses.

Under the scheme, the beneficiaries will be provided with a total housing assistance of Rs. 1.20 lakh to construct a pucca house with a minimum carpet area of 25 square meters including a hygienic cooking space (excluding the toilet area).

Based on the progress of the construction, the funds will be disbursed directly to the bank account of the beneficiary from the State Nodal Account through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode in three installments.

• 1st Instalment: Rs. 40,000, released along with the issuance of the work order
• 2nd Instalment: Rs. 65,000, disbursed upon reaching the roof level
• 3rd Instalment: Rs. 15,000, provided upon completion of the house

The government may change the installment amounts if needed.

To promote faster construction, the scheme provides financial rewards for early completion. People benefiting from Antodaya Gruha Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin), PM-JANMAN, or other government rural housing schemes will receive:

• Rs. 20,000 for completing the house within 4 months from the date of receipt of the 1st installment
• Rs. 10,000 for completing the house within 6 months from the same date

Notably, houses already being built under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana (BPGY) will also be included in this scheme.

The Antodaya Gruha Yojana defines specific groups of households that are eligible to receive new houses. As per the guidelines, the following categories qualify:

• Beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA)
• Households where the primary earner is a person with a disability (PwD) of at least 40 percent
• Households from lower-income groups who have been excluded from the ongoing Government Rural Housing Schemes
• Households whose homes have been fully or severely damaged due to natural or manmade calamities such as fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake, elephant menace, communal violence, LWE (Left Wing Extremism) violence, or major law-and-order issues
• Victims of river or sea inundation requiring relocation or shifting
• Households displaced for government projects like highways or irrigation initiatives
• Households in sanctuaries or reserve forests needing relocation

 The scheme also lists certain households that do not qualify for assistance. These include:

• Households already living in pucca houses
• Households with a member employed by the government, PSU, or statutory body, or drawing a monthly pension from such entities
• Households owning motorized four-wheelers or mechanized three/four-wheeler agricultural equipment
• Households with non-agricultural enterprises registered with the government
• Households with a family member earning more than Rs. 15,000 per month
• Households owning 2.5 acres or more of irrigated land, or 5 acres or more of unirrigated land
• Households that have already availed housing assistance under other Government Rural Housing Schemes
• Households relocated for government projects but already owning a pucca house in another locality

To apply for the scheme, eligible beneficiaries need to visit the official website (https://rhodisha.gov.in/) and fill the form.

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