The Kochi Corporation will soon convene a meeting of the councillors to find ways to solve the stalemate regarding the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY), the housing scheme for the urban poor.
Around 20,000 beneficiaries of the housing scheme are in the lurch after the delay in getting the Central funds for the housing scheme. The Central share of ₹31 crore is long overdue and the shortage of funds has hit the project.
Besides the Central share, the State government and the urban local body have to make contributions to the housing scheme. The maximum support that one beneficiary can get under the scheme is ₹4 lakh.
A large number of beneficiaries are unable to complete the construction of their houses for want of Central support, said Antony Kureethara, the leader of the Congress in the council. The civic administration should take steps to release the funds and support the urban poor to complete the construction of their dwelling units, he demanded.
As the Central funds got delayed, the Kochi Corporation had disbursed its contribution of ₹81.58 crore to the beneficiaries. The fund was released by the State to the corporation by way of an interest-free loan, he said.
Mayor M. Anilkumar said the Central share was delayed due to the backlog of applications that were processed during the earlier years. Decisions could not be taken in the case of a large number of applications. Some of the applicants had not provided the documents that were required to be submitted along with the applications. The Central funds would be released only when the backlog was cleared, he said.
The financial support for the eligible applicants cannot be delayed due to the backlog. The incomplete applications and those who have failed to provide the necessary documents for clearing the funding would have to be removed from the list. A meeting of the councillors would be convened in a day or two to decide on the issue and appropriate decision would be taken, said Mr. Anilkumar.
