The Central government will provide Rs 3,231 crore to five states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan — for constructing 2,28,204 houses for the urban poor.

The project was approved on Wednesday by the Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) Ministry.

Of the houses approved, 2,17,748 are for economically weaker sections (EWS), whereas the rest are for low-income groups, said an official statement.

Under the two components, a Central government assistance at the rate of Rs 1.50 lakh per house will be provided.

Andhra Pradesh has been sanctioned 1,93,147 houses in 37 cities, followed by Gujarat with 15,580 houses in four cities, Telangana 10,290 in 10 cities, Rajasthan 6,255 in 10 cities and Tamil Nadu 2,932 houses in five cities.

"In the light of the experience of implementation of housing projects in the past, this time the Ministry of HUPA has ensured availability of land for all the proposed projects, with the respective state governments providing land as their share of affordable housing in the partnership," said the statement.