Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar on Thursday chaired a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and officers of Housing and Urban Development department to review the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna-Urban (PMAY-U) in the districts of the division.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Samba, Anuradha Gupta; MD J&K Housing Board, Dr Shabir Hussain; Director Urban Local Bodies, Puneet Sharma; Joint Commissioner JMC, Chief Manager J&K Bank.
The Deputy Commissioners of Jammu division along-with other Enforcement officers, consultants and concerned officers attended the meeting through video conferencing. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), a flagship Housing scheme for Poor launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is being implemented in UT of Jammu and Kashmir by the Housing and Urban Development Department.
The Mission aims to address the urban housing shortage among the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) / Low Income Group (LIG) and Middle-Income group (MIG) including the slum dwellers by providing a pucca house to all eligible urban households.
MD J&K Housing Board gave a detailed powerpoint presentation and informed the meeting about the current status and the phase wise progress of PMAY Urban Mission in the districts of Jammu division. He informed that a total of 18590 beneficiaries have been identified, out of which, 17896 houses have been geo-tagged and 4880 houses have been completed in the division, while work on around 7000 houses was in progress and at different stages of construction.
The Div Com, who is also the Chairman of Divisional level Committee, took strong note of slow progress in some districts and directed the DCs to closely monitor the implementation of the scheme in their respective districts and hold regular review meetings. He also instructed them to give targets to EOs for completion of the remaining houses to ensure completion within the fixed timeline.
The Div Com also directed DCs to take strict actions against the low performing EOs.Further, It was informed that the H&UDD, in view of the hardships being faced by the beneficiaries in arranging money for starting construction of Dwelling Units, approved grant of initial assistance of 25 % of the total assistance as mobilization advance after Geo-tagging at Not-Started Level and an amount of Rs. 2 lac interest free loan.
The interest-free loan is an additional benefit, over and above the financial assistance of Rs 1.66 lakh which is already being provided to the beneficiaries under the PMAY-U for construction of their dwelling units.
While reviewing the loan cases, the Div Com instructed the Deputy Commissioners to monitor and review the sub-scheme with concerned ULBs and Cluster Heads/ Bank Branch heads for monitoring of disbursement of loan to beneficiaries.
He also stressed on easing the bank formalities so that beneficiaries do not face inconvenience while applying for the scheme.The Div Com stressed upon the concerned officers to expedite the process, resolve all the minor bottlenecks so that the mission- housing for all could be achieved in the districts of division well in time.
He directed the concerned officers to work with full dedication and utmost zeal for completion of the mission. He directed the officers to look into the matters hampering timely payments of installments to the beneficiaries.
The Div Com asked MD Housing Board and Director ULB to conduct visits in the districts, review the implementation on the ground and take innovative measures to achieve the desired targets in a time-bound manner.
Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner also reviewed availability and progress on establishment of solid waste management plants in the districts. He directed the concerned DCs to resolve land issues, if any and handover the identified land to Urban Local Bodies for smooth execution of work on establishment of Solid Waste Management Plants.
The Deputy Commissioners were directed to regularly review the Door to Door collections in their respective districts and also monitor the progress of work on STPs.Earlier, in another meeting the Div Com reviewed the issues of Association for welfare of senior citizens and J&K Ex Services League regarding Kargil Bihar and Rajinder Bihar colonies.
The representatives of the league projected issues regarding allotted land. It was informed that the land demarcation is pending at these locations.Responding to the issues, the Div Com asked Deputy Commissioner Jammu and Samba to constitute a committee comprising ACR and officers of JDA and look into the matter and resolve the land issues.
The Div Com listened to the issues of Association for welfare of senior citizens and asked DG Social Welfare to hold a meeting with the association and resolve the issues.The Meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Samba, DG Social Welfare, VC JDA, Assistant Commissioner central, Representatives of Association for welfare of senior citizens and J&K Ex Services League while DC Jammu participated in the meeting through video conferencing.