DREAMING A HOME
Kashmir Life|Issue 41 Vol 11; BUKHARI BEGINS? January 12-18, 2020
Caught in the heaps of files and procedures, the officials in the rural development department are oblivious of the inhuman conditions in which the rural poor are living after they were promised help in their home construction, reports Umar Khurshid
Umar Khurshid
DREAMING A HOME

By sunset, Gulzar Ahmed Mughloo, 40, reached his home in Salia Anantnag, after spending a day with an orthopaedist. A labourer, Mughloo met with an accident in September on the very first day when he resumed work after a month-long hiatus.

Post-August 5, it was quite a struggle for the daily-wager to find work. He got it at Ranipora, some 20 kms away from his residence. After trekking part of the distance, he got a lift by a biker. As they reached in Ranipora periphery, the motorcyclist lost control and smashed the two-wheeler with a wall. Mughloo survived with multiple fractures in his leg. Since then, Mughloo is unable to step out of his home.

“After the accident, there is no energy left to work normally,” Mughloo said. “The work stoppage has affected my living badly.” His relatives are literally feeding his family and managing his regular checkups at the hospital. His worries are beyond his legs. His crisis now is to manage his two guarantors at the bank where he had borrowed Rs 2.50 lakh loan.

Living in a shed, Mughloo in March 2014, decided to construct a small house for his five sons and a daughter. A friend suggested him to apply for Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) that extends some help to the rural poor in constructing a home. Launched by Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, in 1985, IAY was restructured as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) in 2015.

It provides financial assistance of RS 1,20,000 in (plains) and Rs 1,30,000 in hilly areas to the certified poor.

Almost a year later in 2015, Mughloo’s name was cleared by the block level officers. He was paid an initial assistance of Rs 20,000 with an advice that his second installment would be released only after he completes construction of three rooms and a bathroom. Constructing home is the responsibility of the beneficiary.

This story is from the Issue 41 Vol 11; BUKHARI BEGINS? January 12-18, 2020 edition of Kashmir Life.

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This story is from the Issue 41 Vol 11; BUKHARI BEGINS? January 12-18, 2020 edition of Kashmir Life.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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