Housing for All in rural India has moved from construction targets to a convergence-based livelihood model. Critically examine with reference to PMAY-G 2024-29.

PMAY-G was launched on 20 November 2016 to give pucca houses to rural families who were homeless or living in kutcha houses [3]. Its 2024-29 phase adds 2 crore houses with an outlay of ₹3,06,137 crore [2]. Official messaging now presents housing as one part of a wider livelihood package. On the ground, however, the shift is only partial.

Signs of a convergence-based livelihood model

• Construction as livelihood: the large outlay creates rural jobs and demand for local building materials [2].
• Bundled delivery: at Balangir (November 2026), 5 lakh Odisha houses were announced together with Lakhpati Didi, collateral-free credit of ₹10 lakh crore for women, PMGSY-IV roads and rooftop solar income [1].
• Bottom-up planning: under Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, Gram Panchayats identify needs, map assets and prioritise works [5]. This follows the spirit of the 73rd Amendment, and rural housing is an Eleventh Schedule subject.
• Better targeting: a fresh Awaas+ 2024 app-based survey uses revised exclusion criteria [4].

Why it remains largely target-driven

• Announcement over completion: Odisha's houses will be released in phases [1]. In Tamil Nadu, only 2.80 lakh of 5.09 lakh sanctioned houses were completed during 2016-21 [6].
• Static grant: unit assistance has stayed at ₹1.20 lakh (plains) since 2016 [3]. The Standing Committee (2021) recommended raising it by ₹10,000 [7], but the 2024-29 phase keeps existing rates [2]. Families then borrow or stop work, which undermines the livelihood goal.
• Weak verification: CAG found many Tamil Nadu houses geotagged at block offices, not at the sites [6]. An app speeds up data collection but does not verify it.
• Uneven state capacity: Uttar Pradesh completed 98.47% of sanctioned houses by March 2024, yet still wrongly excluded eligible families [8]. Results also depend on States paying their roughly one-third share on time [2].

PMAY-G 2024-29 therefore pairs a housing target with a livelihood narrative, but convergence is added on top rather than designed in. Three steps would make "Housing for All" a real path to dignified livelihoods: link unit assistance to building costs, hold Gram Sabha social audits of beneficiary lists and photos within Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan meetings, and track completion rather than sanctions. That would advance the right to shelter read into Article 21 (Chameli Singh, 1996) and SDG 11.