Curation Team
PANAJI: The Goa government has completed the construction of 250 houses out of the target of 254 for eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), an official said on Thursday.
The project, aimed at providing affordable housing, has been implemented at a total cost of Rs 3.4 crore, the official said.
Under the project, there was a target of constructing 254 houses for eligible beneficiaries in the state, said P K Shirodkar, nodal officer in-charge of the scheme and director of the District Rural Development Agency.
“We have constructed 250 houses till date by meticulously following all the procedures under this scheme. The remaining four houses will be completed within the next two to three months,” Shirodkar said.
The Goa government led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has spent Rs 3.4 crore for the project till date, he said.
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a flagship scheme of the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government is providing affordable houses to all eligible rural households, he said.
The scheme is shared between the Centre and the state in the ratio of 60:40, with 60 per cent funding by the Government of India and 40 per cent by the local government.
The official said the disbursement under this scheme should be increased from Rs 1.2 lakh to a higher amount as the construction cost of houses in Goa is higher compared to other states.
“For example, to build a house of 50 sq metres, a minimum of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh is required as a basic necessity,” he said.
As the target is about to be completed, the state government has conducted a survey of eligible beneficiary who would be covered in the current financial year, Shirodkar said.
Mathura Vithal Desai, who lives in the remote Advalpal village in Bicholim taluka of North Goa district, lauded the government scheme and recalled how her house needed desperate repairs and they were short of funds.
Her six-member family used to stay in a mud house earlier. “The situation was worse during rains. We even had snakes entering our house,” she said.
“After we applied for the PMAY, we got the money. We invested some more money from our savings and got the house constructed,” Desai said.
Similar is the case with Rohini Rohidas Kuttikar from Odlebhat -?? St Cruz near Panaji.
She said it was due to the government support under the PMAY scheme that they could build their house.
