Patna, Aug 20: The Centre has approved 11,18,937 pucca houses for poor rural families in Bihar under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), with an allocation of Rs 13,427 crore for the 2026-27 financial year, Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.
Chouhan made the announcement at a state-level PMAY programme in Patna and handed over the sanction letter to Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. He also participated in a housewarming ceremony for 2,35,000 completed rural houses.
The minister said 24,30,327 houses had been approved for Bihar over the past two years, involving an expenditure of Rs 29,164 crore.
According to the figures shared at the programme, more than 61 lakh houses have been sanctioned in Bihar since the launch of PMAY-Gramin in 2016. Around 50 lakh pucca houses have been constructed in the state since 2014, including 19 lakh in the last two years.
The Centre has set a target of constructing 4.95 crore pucca houses with basic amenities across the country by 2029 under the rural housing programme.
Under PMAY-Gramin, eligible beneficiaries in plain areas receive Rs 1.20 lakh as assistance for house construction, besides wage support under MGNREGS and Rs 12,000 for toilet construction.
Chouhan said the housing programme was aimed at providing poor families not just with a physical structure but also security and dignity.
“A pucca house is not merely a structure of brick and cement. It is a symbol of dignity and confidence for an entire family,” he said.
He said the government was committed to ensuring that every poor person gets a permanent house.
Chouhan also highlighted the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in Bihar, saying crop insurance would protect farmers against losses caused by floods, drought, excessive rainfall and other natural calamities.
“If the farmer is strong, the village will be strong; and if the village is strong, Bihar will be strong,” he said.
The minister also underlined the role of women’s Self-Help Groups and Lakhpati Didis in strengthening the rural economy through self-employment and group-based enterprises.
He said efforts would be made to establish She-Marts in every district to provide Jeevika Didis and other women entrepreneurs with platforms to market their products.
“Products made in villages can succeed only when there is a proper market for them,” Chouhan said, stressing the importance of product development, packaging and marketing in increasing rural women’s incomes.
Chouhan further said 53,83,000 digital Farmer IDs had been generated in Bihar, which would help streamline the delivery of government schemes and improve transparency.
Highlighting the broader rural development agenda, he identified roads, housing and agriculture as three key pillars for transforming villages.
“Roads, housing and agriculture” are the three key pillars of rural development, he said, adding that better connectivity, secure housing and a stronger agricultural sector were essential for increasing rural incomes.
During the programme, Chouhan also criticised the Congress over the issue of singing Vande Mataram. He described the national song as a matter of national pride and called for it to be sung in its entirety.
He alleged that some opposition parties were using issues linked to national identity for vote-bank politics, and said there could be no compromise on matters concerning national pride.
The programme was attended by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar and other state ministers, public representatives, beneficiaries and officials.:::
