It has been five years since the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-housing for all (urban) scheme was launched in the city, but the Mohali municipal corporation is yet to send a draft to the Punjab government for the notification of three slums, thus exposing the civic body’s indifference to the plight of the weaker sections of the society.
Mohali has three undeveloped slums—Udham Singh Colony, Phase 7, Industrial Area with 210 houses; Guru Nanak Colony near Mohali cremation ground with 149 houses; and Balmiki Colony in Phase 6 with 216 houses.
The four components of the PMAY scheme include a credit-linked subsidy, in-situ development of slums, beneficiary-led construction, wherein EWS are paid ₹84 lakh for construction, and an opportunity to build individual houses under affordable housing scheme. Two of these components, however, have not been implemented yet.
Mohali MC was assigned in-situ development of slums and beneficiary-led construction while Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) was assigned construction of affordable housing schemes.
The civic body has so far disbursed only ₹84 lakh to just 76 of the total 234 beneficiaries. Surprisingly, even GMADA has taken no initiative to build houses under the scheme. On February 28 this year, finance minister of Punjab Manpreet Singh Badal, in his budget speech, stated that the government intended to build 10,500 houses during the year 2020-21, and 13,500 houses had already been constructed across the state for EWS.
Narinder Singh Dalam, MC executive engineer and i-ncharge of the scheme, said, “We can only develop slums once they are notified and delay in sending the draft was due to lockdown, but we are in process of sending it soon. Regarding the money to EWS, we have identified 235 beneficiaries in a survey in various Mohali villages and ₹84 lakh have been disbursed among 76 beneficiaries.”
{{/usCountry}}Narinder Singh Dalam, MC executive engineer and i-ncharge of the scheme, said, “We can only develop slums once they are notified and delay in sending the draft was due to lockdown, but we are in process of sending it soon. Regarding the money to EWS, we have identified 235 beneficiaries in a survey in various Mohali villages and ₹84 lakh have been disbursed among 76 beneficiaries.”
{{/usCountry}}A senior officer of GMADA said, “We are dealing with only one vertical—affordable housing scheme (AHS). Usually private builders submit proposals that are approved by the committee, but here, no private builder has ever applied.”
In January this year, state rural development and panchayat minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa stated that the Punjab government will construct 10,000 new houses under PMAY in rural areas towards which work was already in full swing.