Tribal families get house sites under Illa Pattalu scheme

As many as 41 Yanadi families of Chindepalli tribal hamlet near Tirupati secured residential plots under the State government’s flagship scheme ‘Jagananna Illa Pattalu’.

The dream of the residents came true, thanks to the support extended by SOS Children’s Villages of India, a self-implementing premier child care NGO extending services in the vicinity.

The land owners are expected to begin construction of their own concrete homes this year, as they are now eligible for housing loans from the government.

The NGO started operations in Yerpedu mandal of Chittoor district in 2016 and with its community outreach model, brought children of 23 eligible families under its direct care. “The impoverished tribal families are living in vulnerable conditions at Chindepalli tribal colony before we commenced our family strengthening programme. The primary class children were quite irregular and 90% of them dropped out from school after class V, who either ended up as agricultural workers or got stuck in child marriages,” says SOS Children’s Villages of India’a senior deputy national director Sumanta Kar.

The NGO supported the hamlet dwellers in getting caste certificates, temporary land documents and subsequently ration cards and power connections.

After the house plots scheme was announced last year for the Below Poverty Line families, the organisation helped them in applying for the same.