John Brittas questions PMAY logos on houses of beneficiary

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas criticised the Union government's requirement that houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) permanently display the scheme's logo, alleging that the policy turns a welfare programme into political branding at the expense of beneficiaries' dignity.

In a written reply to Parliament, the Union government said the PMAY-U and PMAY-U 2.0 guidelines, formulated after consultations with states and other stakeholders, make it mandatory for states and Union Territories to display the scheme logo and beneficiary details on all houses constructed under the programme, Maktoob Media reported.

The Ministry stated that the branding is intended to ensure authenticity and transparency in the implementation of the scheme and functions as an inbuilt social audit. It added that the logo and beneficiary details should be embossed or engraved, preferably in the local language, and displayed prominently on the front of every housing unit.

Responding to Brittas' query on whether states, including Kerala, had raised concerns over the mandatory branding on grounds of dignity, privacy, self-respect and federalism, the Union government did not indicate any plan to review the policy and reiterated that the scheme's name and logo must remain unchanged during implementation.

Brittas argued that a home represents dignity rather than a platform for political branding and maintained that beneficiaries should not have to display permanent government advertisements on their homes. He also contended that PMAY houses are built using public funds, with states contributing a significant share of the expenditure, and asserted that welfare schemes should not be turned into propaganda at the cost of people's dignity.

The Ministry further said that 1.62 lakh houses had been sanctioned for Kerala under PMAY-U, of which 1.43 lakh have been completed and handed over to beneficiaries.

According to the Ministry, Kerala was eligible for ₹2,471.84 crore in central assistance, but ₹2,499.36 crore had already been released, resulting in an excess release of ₹27.52 crore, which the state has been asked to refund.

The Union government also stated that Kerala remains the only state yet to sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for PMAY-U 2.0. It said the scheme is therefore not being implemented in the state and claimed that eligible beneficiaries in Kerala are missing out on the opportunity to receive pucca houses under the programme.

The previous CPI(M)-led LDF government had opposed the mandatory display of the PMAY logo, arguing that branding beneficiaries' homes undermined their dignity and self-respect.

However, Kerala Local Self-Government Minister K.M. Shaji later said there was no objection to displaying the official PMAY emblem, noting that it did not feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photograph. He argued that the issue should not deprive more than 1.2 lakh poor families of housing benefits and said the state was not interested in an unnecessary confrontation with the Union government.

Earlier, in 2023, then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had opposed the mandatory branding, maintaining that housing is a basic right rather than charity and that such branding compromised the dignity and self-respect of beneficiaries.

Former Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh had also urged the Union government to exempt Kerala from the logo requirement, while CPI(M) MP A.A. Rahim later reiterated that no housing scheme logo should be displayed on people's homes, regardless of whether it carried the Prime Minister's photograph.