New Delhi, Feb 23 : The government is committed to provide housing to all the poor by 2022 and is steadily working in this direction, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.

"The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana envisages construction of about two crore houses to benefit primarily slum dwellers, urban poor and people from economically weaker sections and lower income groups of society," he said while addressing a joint sitting of the two houses of parliament on the first day of the budget session.

The scheme, launched in June last year, intends to cover all 4,041 statutory towns in the next five years, he said. 

"In its first year alone, 2011 towns and cities in 27 states have been included under this mission. A total of over 4,25,000 houses have been sanctioned with a project cost of over Rs 24, 600 crore," he said.