SHILLONG: The inordinate delay in starting the housing scheme for the poor has come under the scanner of the opposition with UDP leader Donkupar Roy criticising the addition of the prefix chief minister to the scheme.
Taking part in the discussion on Governor’s address in the Assembly on Monday, Roy said the housing assistance programme of the government has been pending for the last four to five years.
“We thought that the affordable housing scheme will be launched soon, but instead the name was changed to Chief Minister’s Housing Assistance Programme which, however, is yet to be notified,” Roy said.
He said if he were the chief minister, he would not have added the prefix to the housing scheme.
“Why give the prefix ‘chief minister’. Let the scheme be known as Meghalaya Housing Scheme. Why should he take credit for it,” the UDP leader asked.
As per the draft guidelines, Corrugated Galvanized Iron (CGI) sheets will be distributed to the beneficiaries.
However, what irked Roy is the selection process as the draft guidelines state that a small committee instead of legislators will choose the beneficiaries.
In the past when the old scheme was in operation, legislators identified the beneficiaries for the CGI sheets.
“Now, how can non-official members of the committee decide on the requirements of the constituencies of the public representatives. In this context, the objective will never be achieved,” he added.
Speaking on the proposed international stadium at Ampati, the home constituency of the chief minister, Roy said the state should first think about stadiums of national standard.
“It is true that charity begins at home. But first let us have stadiums of national standards,” he added.
He also recalled that last year during the Assembly session, he had raised the question on the number of mini-stadiums which were incomplete and the reply of the minister concerned was 10.
“If we cannot complete the projects in time, tell the people that they were abandoned,” Roy said.
