The Maharashtra labour department is coming out with a housing scheme for construction workers with a target of 1 lakh houses in the next one year. Sources from the labour department said the scheme was part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) with the housing department as its nodal agency. “We have decided to build 1 lakh houses for construction workers in the next one year at a cost of Rs 500 crore. The scheme is being finalised,” said Labour Minister Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar. A labour department official said the construction workers were included in the category of individual beneficiaries by the housing department in PMAY. “Now, they have included construction workers in all categories including the redevelopment projects. It will go a long way. Wherever these projects will be built, eligible construction workers will get houses,” said an official. The official added that the Centre would contribute Rs 1.5 lakh, the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board Rs 2 lakh and the Maharashtra government Rs 1 lakh, to the scheme. According to a survey by the National Sample Survey Office, there were a total of 27.53 lakh construction workers in Maharashtra in 2015-2016. But the total registered construction workers with the labour department are 6.88 lakh, of which 3.45 lakh are active — meaning those who have renewed their registrations and are eligible for availing the benefits and schemes. Another official said the government is planning to provide the transit camp scheme. “As per the initial discussions, it was decided to plan a rental bushing scheme and start it on a pilot basis at the divisional level. We had also sought the availability of houses from CIDCO, MMRDA and civic bodies such as Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Panvel. They had given the list of homes available with them,” said the official. The official added that all the authorities had said they would need 50 per cent of the total houses for providing accommodation to project-affected people. “So at least 30,000 houses are available for the construction workers. The decision on it is yet to be taken,” added the official. But the Maharashtra Construction Workers Federation has said the government should also give subsidy or funds to workers to build their own homes. “The government schemes are complex and may take years to become a reality. So, the government should consider giving funds to workers to build their houses on their own,” said Shankar Pujari, president of the federation.