JAMMU, OCTOBER 03, 2020: Roti, Kapda aur Makaan are the basic necessities of life, which are compromised in extreme financial hardships. With no firm roof to shelter his family, Om Parkesh, a labourer lived with his children in a kutcha house in Panchayat Sira (B), Block Latti Marothi in Udhampur district.

For a long time, I was craving for a dream home for my children. His dream saw the light of the day when he came to know about the Government’s PMAY-G scheme. Losing no time, I applied for seeking the benefits of the scheme said Om Parkash. His happiness knew no bounds when he received an amount of Rs I.30 Lakh as provisioned under the scheme. The financial assistance motivated Om Parkesh to build a pucca house for his children.

The feeling of having a firm roof over their head has brought a new change in the lives of Om Parkesh and his family. This gave his family a renewed sense of trust in the Government.

The PMAY-G scheme enables the homeless villagers to have a roof over their head, improve their living condition and upgrade their social status. For the beneficiary families, the most significant boon of the pucca houses constructed under the PMAY-G scheme has been the safety they provide during natural calamities. During the unfavourable climatic conditions, the kutcha houses more often blow away, exposing underprivileged families to harsh climatic conditions.

The Construction of the house also helps the beneficiary to save money from repeated expenditure on repair of the kutcha house frequently damaged by wind, heavy rainfall and snowfall.

The beneficiary selection is done through Socio-Economic Caste Census data, transparent systems like geo-tagging, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS), timely release of funds, etc., have strengthened the confidence of beneficiaries in the Government machinery. The flexibility in the scheme and the overall management system has benefitted the beneficiary. The enthusiasm coupled with the drive to uplift the status of the individuals has motivated the field functionaries to take up the scheme in a mission mode.