Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced that the state is fully “survey-ready” for the expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G), with a major focus on updating the Awaas+ 2018 list to include deserving households that were previously overlooked. This development comes after the completion of the village mapping process, which saw surveyors being assigned to each of the 6,426 villages across the state. These surveyors will serve as the primary contacts for conducting surveys and ensuring that all eligible households are included.
PMAY-G, an ambitious initiative by the Indian government, has been extended until 2028-29. Meghalaya, having already met all its previous housing targets, will be among the first states to initiate the new surveys. Since its inception in 2016, Meghalaya has successfully approved 186,283 houses under the PMAY-G program, meeting the goals set in the 2018 Awaas+ survey. As of now, 113,158 houses (60.75%) have been completed, with the remainder under construction, and the state aims to finish all ongoing projects by January 2025. The state has mobilized a dedicated workforce of 6,354 surveyors through the State Rural Employment Society (SRES), operating under the Community & Rural Development (C&RD) department. These surveyors will update the Awaas+ database using revised exclusion criteria and cutting-edge eKYC face-based authentication technology. This initiative is a key part of Meghalaya’s broader development agenda to reduce rural poverty, improve housing standards, and ensure access to essential services like education, healthcare, clean water, and sanitation.
The housing mission is central to the state’s development objectives, with the government working towards the goal of “housing for all.” Chief Minister Sangma reiterated the state’s commitment to addressing rural deprivation and tackling poverty through the successful implementation of PMAY-G alongside other vital schemes. He called on all eligible households to prepare necessary documentation and actively participate in the upcoming surveys to ensure that no deserving family is left behind. This expansion of PMAY-G in Meghalaya represents a significant step toward improving rural livelihoods and fostering sustainable development in the state.
