INCLUDE ALL THE POOR TO THE PMAY LIST

INCLUDE ALL THE POOR TO THE PMAY LIST

29-OCT-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------Today, the CPI(ML) staged an angry protest in Jagdishpur before the Block Development Officer (BDO), demanding the re-inclusion of all the poor individuals who had been excluded from the housing scheme list.

It should be noted that the recently published draft list for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has seen the names of a large number of poor people removed. Many of those excluded are landless individuals and daily-wage laborers who rely solely on their wages to support their families; they lack the financial means to construct a permanent house.

Hundreds of rural poor participated in the protest, marching from Kunwar Singh’s *hata* (premises) to the block headquarters, where they held a strong demonstration and a public meeting addressed by party leaders.

In the absence of the BDO, a senior official (head clerk) met with the protesters, accepted their memorandum of demands, and issued instructions for necessary action. It has been decided that a delegation will hold discussions on this matter with the BDO once he returns in two days.