There should not be any unnecessary delay in providing government financial assistance to poor people in rural and urban areas for constructing their own houses.
Government is providing the assistance to people living below poverty line ( BPL) through Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana ( Prime Minister’s Rural Housing Scheme) in rural areas. Previously, the scheme was called Indira Awas Yojna.
The people living under BPL in urban areas are covered by another scheme- Housing for All by 2022. Living in a tin shed for last four years at Dewar in Pattan of North Kashmir, a family had applied long back for the government financial assistance and is yet to get it.
The authorities say their case has been sanctioned and that the family would get the money soon. The officials must provide the assistance without any further delay. The family could have constructed a house before winter had they got the money till now.
Because of the delay, they may have to again face the coming harsh winter in the tin shed. The concerned officials must speedily process such cases, sanction those and provide the financial assistance.
They must keep in mind that the assistance is for poor people, who constantly face hardships in life because of financial constraints.
If the government launches schemes for their welfare, it is the duty of concerned officials to provide the benefits of the scheme to the deserving people. Delaying the benefits is injustice with the poor people and it should not happen. There should a mechanism at the higher level also to monitor the progress of such cases.
In case of any unnecessary delay, necessary official action must follow. The deserving people should not be made to wait for long. Sometimes, they get disinterested and stop pursuing their cases. And subsequently, the benefits do not reach to them.
This badly affects the spirit behind launching of such welfare schemes. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, financial assistance worth Rs 1, 20,000 in plain areas and Rs 1, 30,000 in difficult areas (high land area) is provided for construction of a house.
The houses is equipped with facilities like toilet, LPG connection, electricity connection, and drinking water. There is also a need to increase the financial assistance going by the increasing cost of construction material and labour charges.
But that is for the top level in the government to decide. Till that time whatever financial assistance has been fixed must reach the deserving people without any delay so that they get some kind of ease in their otherwise hard lives.