Government to launch new Housing scheme for poor

Bhubaneswar, Jan 30 (UNI) Orissa government today decided to launch a new Housing scheme for people living Below the Poverty Line (BPL).

The scheme will benefit the people, who are selected to get houses under Indira Awas Yojana as per the 1997 survey and those to be deprived of finding a place in the 2002 survey.

Under the new scheme named as ''Mo Kudia'' (My Hut), every beneficiary would be provided a sum of Rs 25,000 by the state government from its own resources to build his house.

The decision was taken at a high level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here, after the Union government threatened to stop fund allocation if the state government failed to prepare the BPL list as per the 2002 survey.

The state government said at least ten lakh BPL beneficiary would be deprived of the benefits meant for them, if the BPL list was prepared as per the 2002 survey.

The meeting also decided to provide rice at a concessional rate to the affected families.

Official sources here said the government has also launched ''Madhubabu Pension'' scheme to provide old age pension to the old people, who would be affected following the preparation of BPL list as per the 2002 survey.

Panchayatraj Minister Raghunath Mohanty, Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy and secretaries of Finance, Food Supply' and Women and Child Welfare were also present at the meeting.

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