By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHOPAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the ‘Grih Pravesham’ event in Madhya Pradesh through video conferencing on Saturday, where 1.75 Lakh Families were delivered pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Grameen (PMAY-G). Narendra Modi also interacted with the beneficiaries under PMAY-G in Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister said that the 1.75 Lakh beneficiary families who are moving into their new houses today have got their dream home and also a confidence about the future of their children. He said that the beneficiaries who got homes today have joined the ranks of the 2.25 crore families who have got their own house in the last 6 years and will now be living in their own house rather than living in a rented house or a slum or a kutcha house. He wished the beneficiaries Diwali and said that he would have been amongst them personally to share their joy if not for the Corona.
The Prime Minister said that today is not only a memorable moment in the lives of 1.75 lakh poor families, but it is also a major step to give pucca house to every homeless person in the country. He said while this strengthens the hope of the homeless in the country this also proves how Government scheme launched with right strategy and intention reach the targeted beneficiaries.
The Prime Minister said that notwithstanding the challenges during the Corona period, work of 18 lakh houses has been completed throughout the country under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana-Gramin and among that 1.75 lakh houses completed in Madhya Pradesh itself. He said that on an average, building a house under PMAY-G takes about 125 days but during this period of Corona, it was completed in just about 45 to 60 days which is a record in itself. He said this was made possible owing to the migrants returning from cities to their villages. The Prime Minister said this is a great example of turning a challenge into an opportunity. He said that these migrant labour took care of their families by taking full advantage of the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan and at the same time worked to build homes for their poor brethren.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that in many states of the country including Madhya Pradesh projects worth about Rs 23 thousand crores have been completed under PM Garib Kalyan Abhiyan. He said under this scheme, homes are being built for the poor in every village, works are being undertaken to provide water supply to every house, buildings are built for anganwadis and panchayats, along with cow sheds, ponds, wells etc.
He said that this has led to two benefits. One is millions of migrant labourers who returned back to their villages from the cities have got meaningful employment. And second – goods related to construction like Brick, Cement, Sand, etc. have been sold. He said that in a way Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan emerged as a big support for the village economy in this difficult time.
The Prime Minister said that various schemes were launched in the country for decades to build homes for the poor. But the goal of giving a dignified life, giving home to the crores of poor, could never be achieved. This is because there was too much interference of the government, lack of transparency and no consultation whatsoever with the actual beneficiary. He added that lack of transparency in earlier plans led to the poor quality of those houses.
Narendra Modi said that in 2014, the scheme was modified after analysing tthe past experiences and it was launched as Prime Minister Awas Yojana with a new strategy. The entire procedure, right from selection of beneficiary till handing over the houses, was made transparent. He said earlier the poor had to run after the government, now the government is reaching the people. He said that scientific and transparent methods are being adopted from selection to manufacture. Not only this, priority is also given to locally available and used goods, from materials to construction. He said the designs of the house are also being prepared according to the local needs and style.The Prime Minister said there is complete monitoring of each phase of the house construction. Various installments of money are released after completion of each stage.
He added that the poor are not only getting a house, they are also getting toilets, Ujjwala Gas connection, Sowbaghya Yojana, Power connection, LED bulb and Water connection also along with it. He said that schemes like PM Awas Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan are playing an important role in changing the lives of rural sisters. Prime Minister said about 27 welfare schemes of the Central Government are linked to the PM Awas Yojana.
The Prime Minister said that the houses built under the PM Awas Yojana are mostly registered in the name of the woman or registered jointly alongwith the woman of the household. New work opportunities are being created for and at the same time, a large number of lady masons are used for the construction. He said that in Madhya Pradesh alone more than 50 thousand masons have been trained out of there are 9,000 lady masons. When the income of the poor increases, their confidence grows. So the resolve to build a self-reliant India is also strengthened. To strengthen this confidence, the Prime Minister said that modern infrastructure is being developed in every village since 2014.
The Prime Minister recalled his promise made on the 15th August 2020, from the Ramparts of the Red Fort, on laying optical fiber cable in around 6 thousand villages in the next 1000 days. He said that even in this corona period, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan, this work has progressed rapidly. He said that in just a few weeks more than 5000 kilometers of optical fiber has been laid in 116 districts.
He said more than 1250 Gram panchayats are connected with about 19 thousand Optical fiber connections and about 15 thousand Wi-Fi HotSpot are provided. He said that when better and faster internet comes to villages, the children of the village will get better opportunities for education and the youth will get better business opportunities. He said that today every service of the government has been made online so that the benefits are also fast, there is no corruption and the villagers do not have to rush to the city for even small work. He said that to empower the village and the poor this campaign will be faster now, with the same confidence.
