Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's pledge to provide housing to the country's homeless people rolls on in full swing defying odds of pandemic and inclement weather.
The long-time dream of over 53,340 homeless and land landless families to have their own homes is going to be fulfilled on Sunday.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the second-phase distribution of semi-pucca houses marking the Mujib Year through a videoconference from her official residence Ganobhaban.
The government has promised to provide a permanent address for every homeless person of the country on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the Independence and Birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
These families will be provided with modern homes and land ownership documents across the country under Ashrayan-2 project on the day.
According to the PMO officials the joint ownership documents of the two-decimal homes along with a tin-roofed pucca dwelling will be given to both husband and wife of a family ensuring gender equality.
Besides, 100,000 more houses will be given by December next as part of the government's move to rehabilitate the country's homeless people in the Mujib Year.
On January 23 last, 70,000 such houses along with documents were given to homeless and landless people in the first phase of the project in line with the Prime Minister's announcement that there would be no homeless and landless people in Bangladesh.
Each family is getting overall property worth Tk 260,000.
A total of 373,562 houses have so far been given to homeless families under Sheikh Hasina's Ashrayan project run by the PMO.
On Sunday next, the highest number 12,436 houses will be given in Rangpur division, while 10,547 in Chattogram, 7,630 in Dhaka, 7,172 in Rajshahi, 7,153 in Barishal, 911 in Khulna, 2512 in Mymensingh and 1979 in Sylhet divisions.
According to the lists prepared under the Ashrayan project, the number of homeless and landless families (under class-K) is 293,361 in the country, while that of just-homeless families (under class-Kha) is 592,261.
In order to make the houses more sustainable and durable, the PMO brought changes in the design and increased allocation by Tk 20,000 against each house.
The field officials were asked to keep the construction works under constant vigilance to ensure the best quality and prevent any sort of irregularity.
Senior officials have visited the construction sites across the country to check the quality of construction works.
Besides, Tk 5,000 will be given against each house as the transport cost in the plain land while the transportation cost for char, haor, and hilly areas has been set at Tk 7,000.
The DCs and UNOs had been asked to expedite the construction of the houses coordinating with all the local elected representatives.
The officials concerned were also asked to bring all the small ethnic communities and the underprivileged groups like transgender, bede and horijon under the housing scheme.
