Shimla, Jan 9 (PTI) Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday chaired a high-level review meeting of the Panchayati Raj Department and said the state government would provide pucca houses to all eligible poor families in Himachal Pradesh.
He said safe housing is not only a basic necessity but also a social right of every citizen, and the government is taking concrete steps to ensure this right.
“In the first phase of a survey conducted to identify extremely poor families, as many as 27,715 families have been included. These are families who have been part of the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) for the past 20 years but have not yet received a pucca house,” he said.
“In the first phase, the income limit was fixed at Rs 50,000 per annum and families already owning a pucca house were excluded,” he said.
“Similarly, in the second phase of the survey, families already owning a pucca house were also included. As a result, an additional 35,355 families were added to the extremely poor category. With this, the total number of identified extremely poor families has increased to 63,070,” the chief minister said.
“In the third phase, orphaned children, persons with disabilities and widows will also be included, which would further increase the number of beneficiaries. The survey will also be conducted in the fourth and fifth phases to ensure that the maximum number of eligible families are covered,” he said.
He added that at every stage of the selection process, the criteria are being relaxed to make it more inclusive, reiterating that no eligible family will be left out of the IRDP.
The chief minister also said the state government would strengthen the Panchayati Raj Department by filling vacant posts on a priority basis. Posts of junior engineers will also be filled in panchayats to improve the implementation and monitoring of development works. PTI COR HIG HIG
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