The various housing schemes for the poor implemented through the Corporation has been a blessing for many, but for quite a few, the dream was never fully realised.
Their houses have remained incomplete due to various reasons, mostly insufficient funds. Now, the State government’s Livelihood, Inclusion, Financial Empowerment (LIFE) housing scheme intends to complete these unfinished houses from previous housing schemes.
Officials handling housing projects in the city Corporation say a considerable number of beneficiaries of previous housing schemes could not complete the construction of their houses. This has been the case with houses under schemes such as the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programmes (IHSDP).
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“In some of the earlier housing schemes, the amount sanctioned was so low that people were unable to complete the construction with that. They could not mobilise the rest of the funds needed to complete it,” said the official.
According to an order issued by the government to the local bodies last week, those who entered into contract with local self government bodies as part of various housing projects before March 31, 2016, and have failed to complete their houses, can be considered for the scheme.
The local bodies have been provided access to an initial database of such cases uploaded in the LIFE housing project website. The subcommittees of the Corporation will scrutinise this list.
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Micro plans have to prepared for each case, identifying specific issues which led to the non-completion of the house.
The maximum area of such houses has been fixed as 400 square feet, with exceptions allowed. For beneficiaries who are bedridden or in other ways incapable of taking up the work on their own, even if money is provided, the local body can entrust the work to an agency.
The local body will have to find its own funds for the project. It can use unutilised funds, if available, from previous housing schemes.