E-Paper
Migrants ‘homing’ in, Bihar plans 12.32 lakh new houses for rural poor to create jobs
PATNA
PATNA
Amid massive reverse migration of workers, the Bihar government, in a bid to generate more employment for the rural poor, has begun the process of sanctioning 12.32 lakh new housing units under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana( PMAY-Grameen) and set completion deadlines for them by end of 2020-21.
The ambitious target has been set in an effort to engage as many job card holders under MGNREGS ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guaranntee Scheme) and also give a boost to rural economy post-lockdown as construction activity is major source of livelihood for rural poor.
At present, Bihar has 32 lakh families from the economically weaker section (EWS) eligible for housing units under permanent waiting list (PWL), of which 20 lakh have been sanctioned houses from 2015-16 to 2019-20 under the centrally sponsored scheme.
“We expect to generate huge employment opportunities for job card holders under MGNREGA by speeding up construction work on housing units under PMAY-G. We have already started work in several districts and respective district magistrates (DMs) are monitoring it closely by ensuring safety guidelines,” said principal secretary, rural development department (RDD), Arvind Kumar Chaudhary.
“This year, we have set a target of creating 18 crore mandays under MGNREGA in rural areas due to inflow of migrants,” he said.
RDD officials said emphasis is on completing PMAY units as it is safe option in present circumstances when social distancing norms have to be followed at work sites. “Each dwelling unit, spread over 25 square metres, requires three to four labourers, which is quite a safe option of employment keeping social distancing in mind,” said an RDD official.
As per official data, around 1.80 lakh migrants have returned from other states since the lockdown began 43 days ago. A few lakh more are expected to return in next one month.
The RDD has asked all DMs to update the list of pending houses of those living outside the state so that EWS families or their heads, having returned home, could complete the work on priority. As per latest data, there are 28,672 units where work is pending because the family or its head resides outside the state. “Our focus now is to encourage all those beneficiaries coming home to finish construction of their houses in the next few months,” said Rajesh Parimal, deputy secretary, RDD.
However, the task of completing 12.32 lakh housing units in rural Bihar in next one year looks a tall order, with many challenges like non-availability of land, lack of skilled labour force and shortage of construction material due to disrupted supply chain of sand, stone chips and cement post-lockdown. Data suggests the completion rate of old sanctioned housing units has not been very high in the last few years.
To date, 9.50 lakh housing units, against the target of 20 lakh units, are nearing completion or have been completed whereas work is pending or in progress in 11 lakh units. Non-timely allocation of funds to beneficiaries is another obstacle, sources said.
RDD officials though claim the progress has been fast and 2.90 lakh new units were allotted by the Centre last year because of better completion rate of housing units.
“We will be asking beneficiaries to complete works within next three months after sanction as labour force is not going to be problem this year. The target is well achievable,” said a senior RDD official.
Beneficiaries are selected as per the socio-economic caste census in 2011 to provide houses to homeless and those living in decrepit houses to assist them in constructing pucca houses. An assistance of 1.50 lakh is provided to beneficiaries.
