SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has certified 2,494 rural masons under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Gramin Rural Mason Training programme since its inception, placing the Union Territory among the beneficiaries of the Centre’s drive to improve construction quality and disaster resilience in rural housing, Parliament was informed.
According to details tabled in the Lok Sabha, 2,933 candidates from Jammu and Kashmir have been enrolled under the Rural Mason Training programme linked to PMAY G, with 2,494 successfully certified as on December 9, 25. While modest compared to larger states, the figures assume significance for a region prone to earthquakes, floods and harsh climatic conditions, where construction quality has a direct bearing on safety and longevity of rural housing.
The data was shared as part of the government’s reply on technical assistance under PMAY G, which emphasised that beneficiary sensitisation and skilled manpower are mandatory components of the housing scheme. The Ministry of Rural Development told Parliament that failure to properly sensitise beneficiaries on design options, disaster resilient features and construction stages is treated as a violation of the Framework for Implementation and attracts penalties.
Under PMAY G, beneficiaries in Jammu and Kashmir, like elsewhere, are required to be oriented at the block level on the quantum of assistance, stage wise release of instalments, availability of trained masons, use of local and BIS certified materials, sanitation, water storage and green housing elements such as rainwater harvesting. The houses are constructed by beneficiaries themselves or under their supervision, with states and gram panchayats expected to facilitate access to materials and skilled labour.
The Centre has also rolled out design level technical support through PAHAL, a compendium of region specific house designs that includes 108 typologies across 62 housing zones in 15 states. While Jammu and Kashmir is not separately named in the design count, the Ministry said PMAY G promotes state specific housing designs that reflect local culture, geo climatic conditions and multi hazard risks, while encouraging the use of local materials to reduce costs and carbon footprint.
To improve quality control, the Ministry has directed states and Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, to encourage the use of BIS certified construction material. Senior officials from state rural development departments were trained in December 2024 in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards to familiarise them with housing related standards and digital quality assurance tools.
On the technology front, the Centre highlighted the Support Application for Knowledge, Help and Innovation mobile application, which provides beneficiaries access to house designs, locally available BIS certified materials, trained rural masons and even 3D house models. The app is aimed at increasing beneficiary participation and informed decision making during construction.
Nationally, the Rural Mason Training programme has enrolled 3,81,986 candidates, of whom 3,08,330 have been certified. In addition, a parallel initiative through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes under DDU GKY, launched in 2025 to 26, has certified another 8,048 candidates to expand outreach and livelihood opportunities. Compared to major states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir’s numbers remain relatively small, underlining capacity constraints and terrain related challenges in scaling up training.
While the parliamentary reply provided constituency wise data for Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, no such figures were shared for Jammu and Kashmir, limiting granular assessment of housing outcomes in the Union Territory. Even so, officials claimed that states and Union Territories have reported improved timeliness and quality of construction as a result of trained masons.
For Jammu and Kashmir, where rural housing faces repeated stress from natural hazards, the certification of over 2,400 masons marks a step towards safer construction. However, the data also points to the need for sustained expansion of training and closer monitoring to ensure that technical assistance translates into durable, climate resilient homes on the ground rather than remaining confined to programme statistics.
