CM: Will bring in scheme to provide housing for homeless

Porvorim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday that state govt would introduce a new scheme to provide housing for the homeless. He said the scheme would be similar to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, but Goa-specific.

He also said that two patches of govt land in Pernem have been identified for this scheme, and that govt would construct 1BHK flats there.Sawant said issues related to housing for the homeless would be resolved within two months and that one of the criteria to avail of this housing would be a 30-year resident certificate.In a calling attention motion, Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral drew the attention of the House to providing homes for the homeless through a scheme.

He discussed the steps govt intends to take, and specified that the homeless do not include those who have migrated to Goa and are living on the streets.The state-specific scheme was a unanimous demand by both the treasury and opposition benches. MLAs also demanded a definition of who a ‘homeless’ person is, and a survey to identify such people. They also demanded that govt appoint a contractor to build houses for the homeless and club all state govt schemes.

Sawant said govt currently allocates Rs 1.5 lakh for house repair and Rs 3 lakh for constructing them. He also said panchayats would issue construction licences within the stipulated time.Social welfare minister Subhash Phal Dessai said it appears that currently, beneficiaries use the (scheme) money for other purposes, such as buying two-wheelers, and hence cannot submit a utilisation certificate. The minister said that if the CM allows for appointing a contractor to construct houses, the allocated money will be properly utilised.Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar said at least Rs 8 lakh is required to build a house on a small plot, while St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar said govt should conduct a survey to identify the homeless.Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said that everyone is now demanding an agency to implement the scheme for the homeless even as he wondered if the agency would “build houses with Rs 1.5 and Rs 3 lakh”. He termed the scheme a “joke” and asked the CM to explain how more funds would be allocated.Opposition leader Yuri Alemao said that over the past decade, there has been no survey conducted to identify the homeless. He called for a land bank policy and a transparent portal to apply for the scheme online.Bicholim MLA Chandrakant Shetye pointed out that there was very little utilisation of funds under the Atal Asra Yojana, while Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar said MLAs should be allowed to identify the homeless.