Modi's Political Capital

Caring For The Marginal Sections And Effective Execution Of Welfare Schemes Have Been The Hallmark Of Nda's 10-year Rule.

- ASHUTOSH KUMAR

GUDIYA DEVI HAS BEEN LIVING IN PATNA for more than a decade. In the late 2000s, she migrated along with her parents when she was just a kid, as they set out from their ancestral village in Masaurhi, about 50 km from Patna, in search of livelihood. To make ends meet, Gudiya's father worked as a rickshaw puller, doubling as a menial labour, while her mother worked as a domestic help to supplement the household income. The family of five, including Gudiya's younger sister and brother, used to stay in a rented one-room accommodation in the Shiv Puri locality of Patna, serving the households of predominantly retired government servants. Soon, Gudiya, too, started accompanying her mother, and in no time, was working independently.

In 2018, she was married to Praveen, a migrant himself from Jahanabad district, deft at making traditional snacks, including samosas and gol gappas, who earned his livelihood selling his delicacies on a cart in the neighbouring Boring Road locality, one of the key commercial hubs of the city. After marriage, the couple applied for housing subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Rural (PMAY) - the scheme of the Ministry of Rural Affairs and state governments for financial assistance for construction of pucca houses to the homeless living in dilapidated houses. Praveen and Gudiya now have a pucca house of their own in Jehanabad district of Bihar. The dwelling is part of 2.57 crore houses that have been built under PMAY (Rural) till date, according to data from the Ministry of Rural Development. The Jan Dhan account opened post 2014 came in handy for them as the subsidy for construction of the house was transferred to the account directly.