Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Apr 10: The Government has assisted nearly 3500 urban poor beneficiaries in constructing their homes through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) in Srinagar since the program’s inception in 2015.
Nearly 2600 of the 3500 beneficiaries’ houses are in various stages of development and are expected to be completed soon, while the rest of the cases are still under process.
The Government has released approximately Rs 16 crores in instalments to the beneficiaries, with the amount of each instalment varying depending on the stage of the project. “The cases that are under process have been delayed due to COVID 19 and the winters because construction work could not be picked up,” an official from the Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board, the project’s nodal agency, said.
He added that they have received six months of interim relief due to the hard work of the nodal agency and field technical staff in ensuring the smooth and successful implementation of PMAY in Srinagar. “But the scheme should be extended beyond that due to its importance and demand from the people,” he said.
On June 25, 2015, PMAY-U was launched to address the urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG categories, including slum dwellers. Each beneficiary receives around Rs 1.66 lakhs in various allotments at various stages of construction, such as plinth, lantern and slab.
Differently-abled people, senior citizens, SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, single women, transgender people, and other weaker and vulnerable people get priority under the program.
With a meagre income, the scheme enabled Jameela, a single woman who lives with her mother in the Soura area of Srinagar, to build a home. “Without government assistance, I would not have been able to build my house because I had to care for my ailing mother with meager income,” she said.
She said that the programme improved her living situation and gave her back her dignity. Being a single woman, she was unaware of the construction process and this programme provided free advice and assistance as well as guided her through the whole process. She said she was extremely grateful to the government for assisting her in the construction of her home.
Another beneficiary, Mohammad Shaban Ganaie of the SDA colony Noorbagh, said that without the PMAY, he would not have been able to build his dream home. “I thank the government for introducing this scheme,” he said.
He said that as a labourer, he could never have imagined being able to build his home without any obstacles. “I received all of the instalments on time, and the officials assisted me with the paperwork,” he said, adding that more people should take advantage of the programme.
Muzaffar Hussian, a beneficiary from HMT’s Khushipora area, told Excelsior that while the amount was not large, it helped him greatly. “Considering the current inflation, the amount is not large, but we could not have built our house with our savings alone. We are grateful to the government for this, “he said.
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