Jharkhand CM Speeds Up 'Abua Awas' Housing Scheme

Ranchi, Jun 12 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Wednesday directed officials to speed up the process of construction of 2 lakh houses in the first phase of the 'Abua Awas' scheme, asserting that laxity would not be tolerated.

The scheme was launched by former chief minister Hemant Soren in November last year to provide houses to those deprived of benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

"Speed up the construction process of 2 lakh houses under the first phase...Action will be taken against those who commit irregularities and negligence," the CM told officials after reviewing the progress of the housing scheme.

The first instalment for building houses under the scheme has already been released, he said, underlining that the beneficiaries were poor.

He also directed that construction materials such as sand be provided at the lowest possible rates, besides maintaining transparency in selecting beneficiaries.

The chief minister has been reviewing the progress of schemes of various departments after the Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking to media persons, the Jharkhand CM said that he took stock of all schemes and projects of every department and directed the officials to complete them in time.

“We also discussed how to empower farmers and deal with drought-like situations that they face at regular intervals. We are not only developing irrigation facilities, including lift irrigation, in a bid to provide water round the years to farmers but also going to increase the limit of farm loan waiver to Rs 2 lakh,” Soren said.

He said that the coalition government has been "successful" in taking its schemes to the last person of the society.

“We took feedback through our outreach programme ‘Apki Yojana, Apki Sarkar, Apke Dwar' and made plans accordingly and took them at grassroots,” he said.

He also reviewed performance of the Land and Revenue Department and asked officials concerned to launch an investigation into the cases of mutation, which remain pending in the zonal offices for a long time.

“Such mutation cases are neither executed nor rejected. They should be investigated,” he said.

He also asked the officials to ensure that mutation is done within the stipulated time limit and cases should not remain pending without any reason.

Noting that the pace of execution of land mutation is very poor in many zones of Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Giridih and Palamu, Soren told officials, "Identify the poorly performing zones of these districts and send a proposal to take action against the zonal officers there."

Soren also reviewed the progress of the School Education and Literacy Department and said the ‘CM School of Excellence' will be opened in every block of the state in the coming days.

The CM directed the authorities concerned to appoint regular teachers in such schools and ensure quality education. “Improve standards of all 80 'CM School of Excellence' currently operating in the state to that of the best private institutions,” he said.

Soren asked the deputy commissioners to continuously monitor all the facilities being provided in these schools.

While reviewing the amount being spent under the District Mineral Foundation Trust fund, the CM noticed that the expenditure of such fund has been less in Pakur, Garhwa, Chatra and Ramgarh.

Soren asked the deputy commissioners of these districts to increase the expenditure and speed up the work of schemes that have been taken up under the programme.

The CM also directed forest officials to maintain plants and trees post-plantation drive. He emphasised on the need to publicise the ‘Mukhyamantri Rojgar Srijan Yojana' and ‘Mukhya Mantri Gambhir Bimar Yojana'.