In a dig at the Opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said earlier political parties did not do enough for the poor despite their professed stance.
“Once the poor are empowered, they have the courage to fight poverty. When efforts of an honest government and efforts of empowered poor come together, poverty is defeated,” he said.
Stating that the Union government’s scheme of providing pucca houses to the poor will make women of the villages ‘lakhpati’, Modi said that out of the houses built under PM Awas Yojana, women also have ownership rights on about two crore houses.
The Prime Minister, who participated in ‘Grih Pravesham’ of about 5.21 lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in Madhya Pradesh via video-conferencing said, “Among the houses constructed under the PMAY scheme, almost two crore houses are registered in the name of the women.”
This ownership has strengthened the participation of the women in the financial decision-making of the household, he said.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to enhance the dignity and ease of living of women, the Prime Minister said in the last two and half years more than 6 crore households have been provided tap water connections for drinking water.
Modi emphasised that “these 5.25 lakh houses built in villages under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are not just statistics These 5.25 lakh houses are the identity of the poor getting strong in the country.”
The Prime Minister further said this campaign of providing pucca houses to the poor is not just a government scheme but a commitment to instill confidence in the rural poor.
“This is the first step of bringing the poor out of poverty,” he said. “These houses reflect the service spirit and a campaign to make women of the villages ‘lakhpati’,” he added.
As against a few lakh houses constructed earlier, the Prime Minister said this government has already handed over 2.5 crore pucca houses out of which 2 crore are in the rural areas. Not even the pandemic could slow this campaign, the Prime Minister said.
In Madhya Pradesh, 24 lakh out of approved 30 lakh houses are already completely benefiting, among others, Baiga, Sahariya, and Bhariya samaj people.
Houses under PMAY, the Prime Minister informed, come equipped with toilet, Saubhagya Yojna electricity connection, Ujala scheme LED bulb, Ujjwala gas connection, and water connection under Har Ghar Jal, saving the beneficiaries the hassle of running around for these benefits.
The Prime Minister said the government has spent Rs 260000 for providing free rations to the poor. As the scheme has been extended for the next 6 months, an additional Rs 80000 crore rupees will be spent on this.
In tune with the government’s commitment to providing full benefit to the intended beneficiaries, the government has weeded out the 4 crore fake beneficiaries from the record. Post-2014 this exercise was undertaken so that poor get their deserved benefit and money is saved from being pilfered by unscrupulous elements. During Amrit Kaal effort is to take the basic facilities to every beneficiary. He said by aiming for saturation in the schemes the government is eliminating the possibility of discrimination and corruption.
By formalising property records under the Svamitva scheme, the government is easing the business climate in the villages. In Madhya Pradesh, 50 thousand villages in all the districts are being surveyed.