Mumbai, Jan 3 (PTI): Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held the first of a series of interactions with beneficiaries of the Central as well as state government's schemes.

He will be holding such dialogues -- termed 'Loksamvad' -- through video conference twice every month, an official said.

As many as 598 beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's Awas Yojana (PMAY) and housing-related schemes of the state such as Ramai Housing, Shabri Residence and the Deendayal Upadhyaya land purchase scheme took part in 'Loksamvad' on Wednesday.

While the chief minister was seated in the state secretariat, the people with whom he interacted had gathered at the offices of district collectors across the state.

Earlier, Mr Fadnavis had launched 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy' (This is Chief Minister Speaking) programme to connect directly with the masses, which was stopped in November 2017.

During the first 'Loksamvad' on Wednesday, he said the government would provide upto five brass of sand free for the construction of house under the PMAY.

MR Fadnavis gave the assurance when Wardha Kottewar from Wardha and Javed Shaikh from Gadchiroli said they were facing difficulty in procuring sand for constructing house under the PMAY.

An official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the aim of 'Loksamvad' is to ascertain the benefits accruing to the needy under government schemes and know the problems faced by people in getting the benefits.

"At present, 12 lakh houses are under construction under the PMAY in the state," he added.

The next 'Loksamvad' is expected to take place on farmer-related schemes, the official added.

The chief minister asked people questions such as whether they received subsidy in time, he said.

In reply to a question by Asha Jamjod from Amravati, he said discussions were on with the Central government for a waiver of fee charged for house design drawings under the PMAY.