The central government has approved construction of over 2.4 lakh houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) at an estimated cost of Rs 16,600 crore since April this year.

Central assistance of Rs 3,634 crore has been approved for construction of the houses under three segments of the urban housing mission -- Affordable Housing In Partnership (1,24,642 houses), Beneficiary Led Construction (1,15,989) and In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (3,636 houses), an official release said today.

The Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry has approved these proposals since April this year for the benefit of urban poor in 11 states.

Maharashtra has got approval for over one lakh houses, followed by Tripura (42,896), Odisha (23,843), Bihar (21,474), and Gujarat (17,838).

"The central government has approved an additional investment of Rs 16,641 crore for affordable housing for construction of 2,44,267 houses for urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) during the first four months of this financial year," the release said.

With these approvals, a total investment of Rs 51,568 crore has so far been approved for construction of 9,27,991 houses for economically weaker sections (EWS) in urban areas in 20 states under PMAY (Urban), which was launched in June last year.

Central assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh per dwelling unit is provided under 'Affordable Housing in Partnership' and 'Beneficiary Led Construction' segments, while up to Rs 1 lakh per house is given for In-situ Slum Redevelopment.