The funds to be given under the Government’s Rajiv Awas Yojana, RAY, will be used for construction of over two lakh houses. According to officials in the Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation, the two room sets will be constructed at an estimated cost of three lakhs each.
Launched in 2009, RAY is the flagship programme of UPA-II aimed to make India slum free. Under the scheme, 50 per cent of the cost of construction will be borne by the Centre and the rest will be borne by the state government, the urban local body and the beneficiary. There is a shortage of over 25 million housing units in the country and the government intends to construct about 10 million houses under the RAY.
