LIFE Mission housing scheme; applicants should be shown mercy

The 'LIFE' project for the poor is taking a big hit amid the ongoing political controversies and the severe financial crisis of the government. There are many people who have been waiting for years for a safe house to live in. There are many who demolished their huts in the hope of getting a house under the LIFE project. Both those who own land and those without even a piece of land are waiting for a home. Even after the completion of two phases of the project, it is estimated that around five lakh families are homeless in the state. More than one and a half lakh of them do not even have their own land.

Under the LIFE scheme, a beneficiary is allotted Rs 4 lakh for house construction. The amount is inclusive of the contribution of HUDCO, Grama-Block Panchayats, Government and District Panchayats. HUDCO share is Rs 2,20,000 per house as loan. The government will provide Rs.1,00,000. In this era of rising prices, the construction of the house may not be completed even if more than four lakh rupees is spent. Funds are allocated for the next stage as each stage of construction is completed. Assistance is often delayed due to the tangles in procedures. Many people are forced to live in temporary sheds after seeing the condition of half-constructed houses.

The complaint is that many of those who signed the contract for the house two or three years ago have not even received the first instalment yet. There are many people who have been waiting for months for the second instalment and are stuck clueless without getting the final instalment. The government's aim is to provide housing to all the homeless in the state within the next five years. For that to be possible, the LIFE project must be able to proceed with increased energy. Land should be found for families who do not have their own land. This is a heavy responsibility. This problem is the reason behind the emergence of the concept of residential complexes. Many residential complexes have already been completed in various districts. Given the high cost of land and the difficulty of obtaining land, large residential complexes are profitable.

A habitable home is the dream of every human being. Government is fulfilling a huge social responsibility through the LIFE scheme. Therefore, the failure of the LIFE scheme will be cruel to the poor homeless. Those overseeing the project should be determined to move the project forward by removing obstacles in any way possible. In this year's budget of the central government, it was announced that three crore houses will be constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme. We should also be able to take advantage of it. There should be no bias based on politics, caste or creed in the selection of beneficiaries. Procedures should be transparent. It also needs to be examined whether the current allocation can be increased. Limiting the allocation to four lakh rupees in the context of rising construction costs is illogical and outdated.