Chhattisgarh: Dy CM Sharma, Baghel trade barbs over PM Awas figures in Raipur

Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday locked horns over the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), challenging each other’s claims on houses sanctioned, pending, and completed.

The face-off at the Raipur Press Club, after Sharma challenged Baghel to a debate on PMAY, saw both sides release competing figures and accuse the other of misleading people. A key dispute centred on the BJP government’s figure of 18 lakh houses, which Baghel claimed it falsely presented as “sanctioned” units.

Sharma, who holds the panchayat and rural development portfolio, rejected the charge, saying that the Centre, not the state, sanctions PMAY houses. He clarified that the 18 lakh figure represented the state’s commitment, comprising 2.46 lakh pending houses (2016–2023), 6.99 lakh beneficiaries on the permanent waiting list, 8.19 lakh under the Awas Plus category, and 47,090 units under the Chief Minister Awas Yojana.

Sharma added that the Vishnu Deo Sai administration had completed 11.51 lakh houses in the last two-and-a-half years and recently secured approval for 3.65 lakh more. He accused the previous Congress regime of failing to take up a target of 7.81 lakh houses in 2021-22, alleging it “played with the dreams of the poor.”

Baghel countered that housing requirements were based on the 2011 Census, targeting 18 lakh PMAY houses and eight lakh under Awas Plus. He asserted that nearly 11 lakh houses were built between 2015 and the end of his tenure in 2023.

Baghel also questioned the BJP’s claims, noting that after the Sai cabinet announced approvals for 18 lakh houses in December 2023, Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced another 10 lakh during visits to the state. He demanded a clear breakdown of the claimed 28 lakh houses.

The clash also extended to the operational status of the PMAY portal and past political feuds.

Sharma denied Baghel’s claim that the portal was closed during 2022-23 and cited former minister TS Singh Deo’s 2022 resignation over unreleased PMAY state funds. Baghel retorted that if his government had failed, voters had already penalised Congress in the 2023 assembly polls.

The confrontation spilled onto social media soon after the debate. Baghel mockingly posted on X that Sharma was “good only for reels” and urged chief minister Sai to “stop hiding behind propaganda.”

The BJP retaliated with campaign posters accusing Baghel of “hawa-baazi” (hot air) and demanding an apology for allegedly depriving 18 lakh families of shelter.