When PMAY houses a wild goose chase!
When PMAY houses a wild goose chase!
Janme (11) was talking to this reporter in front of his small tarpaulin sheet-covered hut. His seven- year- old younger brother Jitendra called him coming out of the hut. "Come, the water is
boiling, it is time to add rice," he said.
Janme went in and returning after a few minutes, said, "My mother and sister have been to Mundapala village to work in a construction site; father has been to a cement godown for loading- unloading work; so I and Jitendra prepare our food during day time."
Over next few minutes of taking the children revealed that not only cooking, they were doing many other household chores, including cleaning of utensils and house, collection of water and firewood etc. They added that they have been doing it for last two years.
"We want to build a good house, so all of our family members have to work," affirmed Jitendra.
The children, although small, are matured enough to understand their family problems. They narrated how it was difficult to get wage work every day and what their parents and sister earned. "My mother and sister get Rs 200 per day. Wage work is not available every day, only earning of my father depends upon the arrival of trucks to the godown," said Janme.
Namita, their sister, is a class X student in a village high school. Janme is in class 7 and Jitendra in 4. "They are students only in school registers, but hardly attend classes; they need to be at home to manage different household chores in the absence of their parents," said Baldev, Jitendra's uncle.
Jitendra was informed by the block administration of Sinapali that he had been included in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). "The Panchayat Executive Officer asked my father to collect sand and bricks for construction, which we did, but they have not issued work order although a year and a half have passed," said the elder child.
Baldev informed that his brother demolished their old house and cleared the space for construction of a new one. "The family of five is staying under the tarpaulin sheet for last eighteen months," added Baldev.
Bhishma Meher of the village provided a list of 17 such families of Gandabaheli village, who have been asked to demolish their houses but have not been issued work orders.
Most families have collected materials, some have constructed houses up to plinth level, and are waiting for the Government support. If the block authorities didn't have any target, why did they ask the poor families to demolish their houses and spend their hard earned money for collecting construction materials," asked Bhishma.
Sinapali block officials agreed that they have asked people to collect sand and bricks. "Actually we had told them to collect sand and brick so that houses can be started soon after target received. This was told after instruction received in the VC. But some of beneficiaries demolished their houses in a hurry and we have not yet received target. This is the issue in all GPs," informed the BDO, Sinapali.
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