Janki is a farm labourer. He has been living at Nagra in Balrampur district for decades. His family includes his two sons and six grandchildren. Janki’s sons also earn their living by working as farm labourers. Their earning is, however, not enough to meet the expenses of the big family. Therefore they could never renovate their kutcha house that they had been living for long. The house had a ‘khaprail’ roof and it would never protect them from rain. Also, the hut needed regular repair because it would be damaged by rain or storm. It was very difficult for the big family to stay in the hut but somehow they had to manage since they had no other option. There was no way out and they had to compromise with the situation. Janki and his sons toiled hard from dawn to dusk but could never save enough money to build a new house for them.

The family had struggled for a long time but finally they have found a way out. Today Janki has a new pucca house of his own where he lives with his family. He got this house constructed this year under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Several families like Janki’s have got their houses constructed under the scheme so far and they are living comfortably now.

“I am no longer worried about rain or other natural calamities and we do not have to repair the house at regular intervals anymore. It is quite a relief.”, says Janki. After years of struggle, he is now feeling more secured and comfortable. The money that his family was earlier spending on repairing works can now be spent otherwise. It will make a significant difference for them.

Food, clothing and shelter are three basic needs in human life. Without a proper shelter no one can have a comfortable and healthy life. The house is where a person feels at home. It not only protects people from external threats like natural calamities, animals or hostile human enemies but is also important for the emotional wellbeing of a person. When someone does not get a proper house to live in, or is disturbed by the conditions of his dwelling place, it is a threat to his emotional health. As long as some people in a population live in such conditions, a society or a country cannot boast of proper growth and progress. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are , therefore, very significant for the best utilisation and preservation of human resources. Proper implementation of such programmes are of paramount importance.

Chhattisgarh has been very successful in implementing the PMAY scheme. Janki is among thousands of people that have benefited from the PMAY scheme in Chhattisgarh. The state government has done significant work under the PMAY in recent times. According to 2018 statistics Chhattisgarh has the fourth highest number of rural beneficiaries under the PMAY among all the states in India. Chhattisgarh is also leading in terms of training rural masons for construction work done under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.