Three out of every four houses that were approved for tribal people under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme at Vachikoli village in Devarshola are incomplete, more than three years after the work began.
Local residents stated that 22 out of the 37 families residing in the Kurumba tribal village in Devarshola town panchayat received sanction for new houses. While the work started in 2019, the contractor ceased all work in 2021, citing lack of funds for the houses, they said.
“Of the 22 houses, only five houses have roofs. Even in the five houses that are ‘complete’, two do not have doors or windows,” said S. Maathan, a resident of the village. Elephants are known to regularly visit the village in the evenings, and the residents stated that the “half-completed” houses provided no protection either from the wildlife or from the unpredictable weather in Gudalur.
The village was located just a few kilometers from Padanthorai, and there were no problems with accessing the village, said Lakshmi, an activist working in the region. “Only a couple of families are using the houses that have been completed, as they have demolished their mud houses after trusting that the local town panchayat will complete the work,” said Mr. Maadhan.
The residents said they would not make the same mistake, and that their traditionally-built houses offered more comfort than the half-finished houses built out of cement blocks, most of which did not have roofs. “We will not move into the houses until they are fully built, and all the basic amenities are provided. But we have very little hope that the work will start again,” said another resident.
