Incomplete houses shown as complete or different houses geotagged on the compliance app for the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), unreleased installments, omitted beneficiaries, deficiencies in constructed houses, and double transactions—these shortcomings in the implementation of the PMAY-G scheme in the state between 2017 and 2023 were highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on Compliance Audit for the period ending March 2023 released on Wednesday.
As per the findings, the state government constructed 67% houses against the target of 6.06 lakh houses until June 2023. However, in the sample verification conducted by the audit teams, it was found that 259 eligible beneficiaries were not included in the Awaas Permanent Wait List due to a delay in receiving the Gram Sabha Resolution.
The audit also flagged instances wherein houses were sanctioned, and the first installment was released to the landless beneficiaries without ensuring land possession. The report highlighted that 539 beneficiaries received benefits under PMAY-G, PMAY-U, and other rural housing schemes due to non-verification by concerned authorities while sanctioning the houses. In several cases, incomplete houses were shown as complete in AwaasSoft (MIS software portal) and there was delay in the release of first and final installments to the beneficiaries.
The audit stated that out of the 1,240 houses test-checked, 1,019 were geo-tagged as completed in AwaasSoft, but the final installments were released later after the full completion of the houses. The audit also found discrepancies related to payments made to beneficiaries and non-reconciliation of 97% of ‘false success’ or ‘rejected’ transactions that were to be reconciled with banks. The audit noted that there had been no recovery made of sum deposited into wrong accounts or of double payments mistakenly made to some beneficiaries.
The audit highlighted pictures of under-construction houses, shown as completed on AwaasSoft. The report stated that during a Joint Physical Verification (JPV) of 1,240 houses in 25 talukas, it was noticed that the construction of a house in Bhatiwada, Dahod, was incomplete. However, in its place, another house was geo-tagged and shown as completed in AwaasSoft.
In some cases, “irrelevant photos were uploaded instead of the geo-referenced picture of the house” and in some cases, identical photographs were uploaded with the same inspection dates for different stages of construction, the report stated.
The audit also highlighted deficiencies and “several deviations”, in the constructed houses, from the PMAY-G guidelines, which stipulate that the core house design should feature designated areas for cooking, toilet, and bathing, with strong roofs and walls to withstand local climate conditions and incorporate disaster-resilient features. In 552 of the 1,240 checked houses, cooking space was not constructed while in 287 homes, the roof was not permanent.
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The audit observed that during 2017-2023, out of the 12,500 targeted landless households, the state allotted lands to 9,135 beneficiaries (73%) while 3,365 were not allotted lands. The report stated, “During the exit conference held in March 2025, the state government acknowledged the shortfall in land allotment under PMAY-G and stated reasons such as non-availability of ‘gamtal’ land and beneficiary unwilling to shift outside their village. It was also informed that the department was planning to introduce a new policy to provide land to landless beneficiaries.”
The audit also noted the violation of PMAY guidelines by observing that the Commissionerate of Rural Development (CRD) withdrew ₹143.66 crore from the PMAY-G Scheme’s State Nodal Account (SNA) and deposited the amount with Gujarat State Financial Services Ltd (GSFS) as an investment during the period 2017-22. The state earned ₹51.86 crore as interest on funds held in the SNA/GSFS account during 2017-22. Of this, ₹15.02 crore was redeposited (December 2021 to June 2023) into the relevant central and state accounts, while the remaining interest of ₹36.84 crore (accumulated up to March 2022) was not deposited into the accounts of either the Government of India (GoI) or the Government of Gujarat (GoG) as of May 2023.
The government, in March 2025, said that the matter would be examined.
The audit also observed non-release and delay in the release of the first installment of funds amounting Rs 8.99 crore to 2,995 beneficiaries between 2017 and 2023 despite sanctioned houses. Similarly, final installments, which amounted to Rs 28.7 crores, for 8,486 houses completed under the scheme were not released.
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An analysis of AwaasSoft data for the period 2016-23 revealed that the state could not achieve the target in the stipulated time, the report states. As on June 8, 2023, a total of 6,06,040 houses were targeted for construction across the state. Out of them, 5,25,949 houses were sanctioned, and 4,06,266 houses (67 per cent) were completed.
The audit further observed that 74% of the houses were completed in time (within 12 months) while 21% were delayed for up to two years and 5% were delayed for more than two years. The audit states that the District Rural Development Authorities (DRDAs) attributed reasons for incomplete houses to “migration, financial constraints, and unwillingness to build houses and sanction houses to landless beneficiaries.” The report also states that the government stated in March 2025 that appropriate measures would be taken to ensure the timely completion of the pending houses.
The audit observed cases where beneficiaries availed of benefits of various housing schemes in addition to the PMAY(G). The report states that in March 2025, the government accepted the facts and stated that the “merging of rural areas into urban areas resulted in certain beneficiaries receiving assistance under both PMAY-U and PMAY-G” and that the cases would be verified, and “appropriate action would be taken to recover any excess financial assistance disbursed under PMAY-U or PMAY-G accordingly.”
The audit also found that despite DRDAs being allocated Rs 3 crore each for providing interest subsidy to eligible beneficiaries under the state government’s Mukhya Mantri Awaas Protsahak Sahay Yojana (MMAPSY) to expedite house construction under PMAY-G, the grant had remained unused and not returned to the state by the districts as of December 2022. The report stated that the government said in March 2025 that “no beneficiary had applied for a loan of Rs 70,000 in the state” and that the unused funds were being recovered from all districts.
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The audit also flagged “lack of coordination between district and taluka-level authorities, adversely affecting the implementation of the MMAPSY scheme as the DRDAs did not release payment of beneficiaries, identified by the taluka development officers for providing additional incentive of Rs 20000 to eligible beneficiaries. Similar shortcomings were observed in the implementation of the Bathroom Sahay Scheme (BSS) due to the ” lack of proper monitoring at the district and lackadaisical attitude of taluka-level authorities”.
The audit stated that as per the PMAY-G guidelines, states were required to ensure that a minimum of three per cent of total beneficiaries were persons with disabilities (PwD), which was subsequently enhanced to five per cent by the Central government, with effect from April 2017. However, the audit scrutiny revealed that only 579 beneficiaries (0.10 per cent) of SECC data were registered in AwaasSoft under the PwD category out of the total 6.06 lakh houses targeted in the State, as of August 2023.
When contacted, a senior government official said that the recommendations of the CAG report would be “seriously taken” and the issues raised in the audit would be “looked into”.
