Kerala Agrees to Union Govt's PMAY Logo Requirement for Houses

The government of India has a program, called the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, or PMAY, that helps build houses for people who do not have homes.

Kerala, a state in India, will use this program to build houses for 30,000 homeless families.

The central government said it would help pay for the houses only if the PMAY project logo is painted on the front of each house.

That logo may also show the face of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Kerala's earlier government did not want the logo because it felt it would hurt the pride of the families who get the houses.

That government said having your own house is a matter of pride and should not be labelled like a free gift.

Now the new Kerala government has agreed to put the logo on the houses, and both governments will sign an agreement worth Rs 450 crore.

Under the new plan, each house costs about Rs 4 lakh to build, and the money is shared by the central government, the state, the local town council, and the family.

Some politicians, like the CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, still say labelling the houses is wrong.

They say the sign makes it look like the houses were given for free, even though the families also have to pay part of the cost.