6.32 Lakh Jharkhand Families Missed PMAY-G Benefits as CAG Flags Planning and Implementation Gaps
Ranchi | August 12, 2026: For thousands of rural families waiting for a permanent home, getting identified as eligible is only half the battle. A latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit has revealed that more than 6.32 lakh eligible households in Jharkhand remained outside the coverage of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) because of planning and implementation deficiencies.
The audit, tabled in the Jharkhand Assembly, also highlighted gaps in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and MGNREGA, raising broader questions about how effectively rural development funds and targets are reaching households on the ground.
Why 6.32 Lakh Families Were Left Out of PMAY-G
Jharkhand had identified 22.34 lakh eligible households under PMAY-G by November 2022. However, inaccuracies in the priority list, under-utilisation of allocated targets and a delay of nearly two years in finalising beneficiaries resulted in the Centre allocating only 16.02 lakh houses.
As a result, 6.32 lakh eligible households could not be covered under the scheme.
For families living in inadequate or temporary housing, such delays can mean another monsoon, winter or year spent waiting for a safer permanent home.
15.62 Lakh Houses Completed, But Fund Utilisation Remained Low
The state sanctioned 15,92,124 PMAY-G houses between 2016 and 2024, of which 15,62,249 houses had been completed by January 2025.
However, the CAG flagged financial management as an area of concern. Against around ₹20,199.98 crore in available funds, expenditure stood at approximately ₹14,113 crore.
The audit noted that fund utilisation ranged between 55% and 83% from 2019 to 2024.
Jal Jeevan Mission Faces Another Major Implementation Gap
The concerns are not limited to rural housing.
Jharkhand approved 98,067 Jal Jeevan Mission schemes with an estimated cost of ₹24,360 crore. Of these, 97,535 schemes were taken up for execution at an agreed cost of ₹24,665.29 crore.
Yet, only 27,249 schemes had been completed by December 2024.
By March 2025, around 34.31 lakh of 62.53 lakh rural households, or 55%, had functional household tap connections. This was below the national coverage of around 80% cited in the report.
₹321.84 Crore in MGNREGA Wages Remained Outstanding
The audit also highlighted a significant concern for rural workers.
Unskilled labour wages amounting to ₹321.84 crore for 2019-20 to 2023-24 remained outstanding, according to the report.
A discrepancy was also found between data recorded on the NREGASoft portal and the department's certified financial accounts.
Only 27% of Proposed MGNREGA Works Were Completed
Of more than 1.02 crore works proposed between 2019 and 2024, only 27.96 lakh works, or about 27%, had been completed.
Another 50.21 lakh works, nearly 49%, remained incomplete as of March 2024, despite expenditure of around ₹2,633 crore.
What the CAG Findings Mean for Rural Households
The findings highlight an important issue for rural residents: government schemes can only improve living conditions when identification, funding and execution work together.
For PMAY-G beneficiaries, the immediate concern is whether the households left outside the scheme can eventually be brought into the housing programme.
The findings could also put greater focus on beneficiary-list accuracy, fund utilisation, project completion and monitoring across Jharkhand's rural development programmes.
The bigger question now is whether corrective action following the CAG findings can ensure that eligible families waiting for homes, reliable tap water and timely MGNREGA wages actually receive the benefits meant for them.