Landless villagers in for a Diwali surprise as Collector allots 500 aq ft plot to each
(Representational picture caption: Nashik Collector Ayush Prasad recently turned up at a Fair Price Shop and enquired whether food-grains were reaching the eligible beneficiaries, mostly the differently-abled and the poor and needy, on time under the Public Distribution System.
In what could come as a major relief and a surprise Diwali gift for the landless and homeless villagers in five Talukas, Nashik Collector Ayush Prasad has sanctioned government land plots for them free of cost. These destitute villagers have been identified in Malegaon, Baglan, Sinnar, Chandwad and Yeola talukas. Each villager has been sanctioned a 500 sq ft plot to build a house on them.
“A total of 228 beneficiaries across 16 villages in five talukas stand to benefit from the allotment of government land parcels free of cost,” said Ayush Prasad, Nashik Collector while adding that the move will finally allay their extreme miseries and stop endless wait for a house of their own as they have been dreaming about it since years.
With this, each of the 207 families — adding up to 228 villagers — will get a 500 sq ft plot free of cost out of government land bank. In the administrative circles, Prasad has been known for going that extra mile for taking pro-poor and pro-people decisions.
Interestingly, the move has been taken after it was brought to the notice of Prasad that in the past many of these villagers had been granted funding under the PM Awas and other related housing schemes for the poor homeless. But their status of being landless and homeless villagers deprived them from having a house of their own.
If everything turns out as planed, next Diwali these poor landless and homeless villagers will definitely light lamps in a house of their own. For years, these villagers had been deprived of a roof over their head only for one reason — they did not have a land parcel to build a house on them. But now this situation is definitely going to change for them, Ayush Prasad, Nashik Collector
After he came to know about the villagers’ plight, Prasad accelerated coordination with the local Revenue Department and the District Rural Development Agency and saw to it that all the formalities including the legal and administrative procedures were completed in a time bound manner.
Baglan tops list with 94 beneficiaries
A total of 94 families spread across six villages in Baglan stand to benefit from this decision. This includes 5 families from Mauje Sarvar (Gat No 1), 13 from Mauje Ambasan (Gat No 14), 13 from Mauje Rajpurpande (Gat No 122), 42 from Mauje Sakode (Gat No 114/9), 2 from Mauje Malgaon/Tilwan (Gat No 13), and 19 from Mauje Wadipisol (Gat No 59).
Malegaon second with 78 families
Land parcels have been sanctioned for 78 families across four villages in Malegaon Taluka. This will benefit 11 families from Mauje Devghat (Gat Nos 157 and 186), 7 from Mauje Tilwan (Gat No 85), 4 from Mauje Varhane (Gat No 308), and 56 from Mauje Zodge (Gat Nos 472 and 883/2/A).
Sinnar, Yeola also included
Government land has also been sanctioned for housing in Sinnar and Yeola talukas: 10 families in Mauje Borkhind (Sinnar taluka, Gat No 134) under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), and 25 families in Mauje Mukhed (Yeola taluka, Gat No 1113/3).
Land Transferred to Panchayats
The sanctioned land parcels have been transferred to the respective Gram Panchayats. A residential layout will be approved as per the rules and the land will be distributed to eligible beneficiaries — either through a lease agreement or in line with the prevailing policy.
The Block Development Officers (BDOs) and Tehsildars have been instructed to ensure that the beneficiaries do not already own any house or land plot before handing over the actual possession. “This particular instruction has been given to ensure that free land parcels reach the needy poor,” Prasad said.
