Janata Awas programme brings joy to poor in Karnali

By Basudev Sharma,Jajarkot, Mar. 16: The government's Janata Aawas Programme has brought joy to underprivileged, Dalit, endangered, marginalised and minority communities in Jajarkot, who have been living in huts for generations due to their inability to build proper homes. 

Under this programme, the government has begun constructing 54 houses in Jajarkot in the current fiscal year. Beneficiaries have been selected across seven local levels and agreements with them have been finalised to initiate construction. 

According to Bhimsen Basnet, a technical officer at the Infrastructure Development Office, the ongoing construction includes six houses in Bheri Municipality, eight in Kushe Rural Municipality, eight in Shivalaya Rural Municipality, seven in Junichande Rural Municipality, eight in Nalgad Municipality, nine in Barekot Rural Municipality and eight in Chhedagad Municipality, totalling 54 houses.

In Junichande Rural Municipality-7, arrangements have been made to sign agreements within the municipality for beneficiaries with disabilities who faced difficulties travelling to the district headquarters. The provincial government has allocated a budget for safe housing for the homeless since the previous fiscal year.

With financial support from the Karnali Province government, 87 houses were constructed over the past two fiscal years and 54 more are being built this year, totaling 141 houses in three years. 

Chief of the Infrastructure Development Office Bhupendra Prasad Jaisi informed that the Karnali Province government allocated Rs. 23.5 million for the Janata Aawas Programme in the current fiscal year.

Khim Bahadur BK of Bheri Municipality said that his single-story mud and stone house, damaged in last year's earthquake, had become unsafe. Upon learning that the government was building homes for the underprivileged, he reached out to the concerned authorities and received support. 

BK said that besides the land for his house, he has no other agricultural land. His family survives on earnings from labour work, which only covers their daily meals. The government's support has enabled him to combine his savings to build a concrete house.

According to Jaisi, each beneficiary receives Rs. 336,000 for construction. Beneficiaries are provided funds in installments – 25 per cent after foundation work, 30 per cent after the foundation slab is completed, 35 per cent after the walls are erected and the remaining 10 per cent is paid after the house is completed with a toilet.

The federal government started the Janata Aawas Programme 16 years ago and the provincial government has continued it. The programme has brought happiness to the underprivileged, Dalit, endangered, marginalised and minority communities.