But implementation remains elusive
SHILLONG: The State housing scheme has got a new moniker but the Government is yet to come clear on when the same will be implemented.
The nomenclature of the Meghalaya Affordable Housing Scheme has been changed to Chief Minister Housing Assistance Programme and a notification in this regard will be out soon, sources in the Housing Department said.
Earlier, both the Chief Minister and the Housing Minister had asserted that the Government would kick start the Meghalaya Affordable Housing Scheme in 2016 but the plan has not fructified till date.
The Government used to provide CGI sheets to beneficiaries but it was stopped and the Government had promised to start an alternate scheme that remains elusive till date.
The housing scheme in its new avatar will have two components under which the Government intends to provide construction materials to the beneficiaries and financial assistance of Rs 75,000, said the sources and added that the department will soon notify about the constitution of selection committees for listing the names of beneficiaries at the district and the block levels.
Reacting to a query, the sources said the Government is close to finalising the various technicalities of the programme, like what kind of materials are to be provided to the beneficiaries.
The department intends to launch the programme at the earliest even as it was informed that an amount of Rs 20 crore was sanctioned for the programme in the financial year 2016-17.
The scheme is meant for the economically weaker section and it will be implemented in both rural and urban areas. The Government initially wanted to construct 10,000 houses in the State under the scheme by providing necessary financial assistance to the beneficiaries.
The plan to introduce the Meghalaya Housing Scheme was way back in 2012 when the state government decided to do away with the distribution of corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) sheets to the poor for the construction of their houses.