Published Paper Details:

Housing, alongside food and clothing, is a core component of human well-being and a critical determinant of sustainable development. Adequate housing not only supports physical and psychological health but also supports social stability, economic productivity, and environmental sustainability. In the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 11, which seeks to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, access to secure, affordable, and quality housing is paramount. In this backdrop, the thrust of the present paper is to evaluate the performance of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in advancing sustainable rural housing by providing permanent dwellings and associated basic amenities to households below the poverty line, and to identify the problems being faced by the respondents as well as the officials involved in dealing with the scheme. A comparative analysis of housing quality and access to essential services between beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the Jammu and Doda districts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has also been carried out. Empirical evidence is drawn from a structured primary survey encompassing 320 rural households, comprising 160 PMAY-G beneficiaries and 160 non-beneficiaries. After conducting the survey through personal interview method, the findings of the study are that even after six years of scheme implementation in the study area, approximately 65% of the rural households remain outside the program's coverage. Furthermore, a significant proportion of households continue to lack access to other civic amenities such as individual sanitation facilities, safe drinking water, and clean cooking fuel, thereby posing challenges to achieving inclusive and sustainable rural development.