KOLKATA: As the rural polls are approaching, the West Bengal government will hand over 5,00,000 houses to poor people in the villages on January 29. The Mamata Banerjee government hopes to woo the villagers with this gesture. The rural elections are crucial as these will be rehearsals for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections for which BJP has selected Bengal as a focus state, where it wants to secure 22 seats out of the total 44.
“Houses at Howrah and North 24 Parganas will be distributed after the bypolls in Uluberia Lok Sabha and Noapara assembly constituency,” the chief minister said at the inaugural function of Mati Utsav (soil festival) in Burdwan district. A project titled Aamar Bari (My House) was launched in 2013. Under this scheme, a person is given a house with a room, a kitchen and a toilet. Another project 'Nijo Griha Nijo Bhumi' (Own House, Own land), launched in October 2011, envisages handing over 5 decimal of land (about 2,180 sq ft) to eligible families, landless agricultural labourers, village artisans and fishermen in rural areas.
The state also has another housing scheme Adhikar in 11 backward districts. The beneficiaries are given Rs 45,000 as a one-time aid for building a house with a room and a toilet. Officials in the districts were yet to get details of the schemes under which the houses announced by the chief minister will be distributed.
The chief minister also said that the state’s girl welfare scheme Kanyashree has produced a significant collateral benefit - thwarting child marriages. “Since the inception of Kanyashree, a total of 120 (minor) girls have come forward to prevent their marriages. I congratulate these brave girls and have directed the police to reward them,” said Mamata Banerjee.
The beneficiaries get a one-time grant of Rs 25,000 and annual scholarships of Rs 500. The target age group is 13 to 19 years for girls from families with income less than Rs 1,20,000 per annum. The one-time cash is given to the girl if she gets admitted to an undergraduate college/vocational course and is unmarried after 18.
