BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanction 14.94 lakh special houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) for providing shelter security to all eligible households in the State.In a letter to the Prime Minister, Patnaik said the State government has identified, geo-tagged and Aadhaar-seeded 7.87 lakh houses damaged in 14 districts hit by cyclone Fani in May last year.
“These beneficiaries may be brought into permanent wait list (PWL) of PMAY-G and considered for sanction of special houses. This will not only provide relief to the affected families but also ensure safe housing to rural families to withstand natural calamities in the cyclone-prone areas,” the letter said. Noting that 6.07 lakh eligible households have been left out from the PWL in 16 non-Fani affected districts, the Chief Minister requested the PM to advise the Ministry of Rural Development to open window of Awaas+ mobile app to geo-tag these left out houses to accomplish the objective of ‘safe housing for all’.
The Chief Minister last year requested the Prime Minister for waiver of the PWL criterion for allocation of houses to beneficiaries and also consider a Centre-State fund sharing pattern of 90:10 as a special case.
Emphasising on transparent selection of beneficiaries under PMAY-G, the Ministry had directed all states in February for creation of PWL on AwaasSoft for better monitoring by the Centre.
The Ministry further advised the states to display the village-wise list of PWL on flex board or on public buildings to ward off unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of the scheme.The Chief Minister had requested the Prime Minister during his visit to the cyclone affected districts last year for sanction of five lakh houses under PMAY-G for the affected families.
Safe housing for all
7.87 lakh houses damaged in 14 districts hit by cyclone Fani
6.07 lakh eligible households left out from the PWL
Earlier, the State had sought 5 lakh houses for Fani-hit families