Shopian: Despite the government’s promise to rehabilitate those who are living below poverty level by giving cash to build houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), dozens of such households in Keller Tehsil’s Batmaran Wanpora and Gujjar Basti have been kept out by the authorities from the scheme, even as they live under tin sheds in this bone-chilling cold.
Aasha Banoo, widow of Muhammad Abdullah Mir, is among the deserving beneficiaries of PMAY but she is living in a tin shed along with her handicapped daughter for years.
“Her two sons who live separately sold the jewellery of their wives to raise small houses but their widow mother is still living in a tin shed,” said Bilal Ahmad, a local. He added that several people in the area applied for the PMAY scheme in 2017 and 2018 but none of them were provided any assistance by the government to build their houses.
Locals in the area said that most of the people who have applied for the scheme belong to Shah caste, which according to them is a misnomer since this tribe of Shah are economically backward in every part of Kashmir.
“Many officials came here but none of them solved our problem. In our locality no one has a government job, business, or land. Now a few of our children are about to clear their Class 10 exams, which would be the first generation in our area to clear matric level. Such is our economic condition. We remain dependent on manual chores,” said Muhammad Amin Shah who applied for the PAMY scheme a decade ago and is still awaiting approval.
Deserving households of the scheme said that while they are not being provided funds for construction of houses, on the other hand some of the households have been put in the ‘above poverty level’ category of ration cards, because of which they are now being denied several essential food items through ration shops. Keller block of Shopian is mostly comprised of economically backward classes, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Bashir Ahmad Bagat’s is another such family, having six members, living in a tin shed since years even during winters when Kashmir has witnessed below minus 15 degree Celsius night temperature in some years.
Villagers said that they have no separate rooms to cook, dine, sleep or wash. A single room or tin shed is all they have to carry out all the household works.
They appealed to authorities to provide them immediate relief so that they would not suffer in winters.
The Block Development Officer, Keller, told Kashmir Reader that it is true that these households in Batmaran Wanpora, Brethipora and Gujjar Basti are deserving candidates for the PMAY scheme but unfortunately there are 1900 such households in the block when only funds for 300 have come from the government.
“We were told to cover 66 percent from Scheduled Caste from that 300 number, though the SC population in the area isn’t so much,” he said.
Ahmad said that even District Development Council members and Panchayat members have visited such areas but it is hard to find only 300 among 1900 when 66 percent scheme is for ST. “Still, we will try to find a solution for the rest 1600 till March next year,” he said.
When asked if he thinks that the government should have provided more funds for the area which is economically backward, he said that it should have been done, but it isn’t in his hands.
“This time the most part of the scheme is for ST. We are hopeful that the next yearly quota will be for other or general category,” he said.

Raashid Hassan