Ashrayan to rehabilitate 2.50 lakh families by 2019

658

 DHAKA, May 7, 2018 (BSS) – At the directive of the Prime Minister, the government would rehabilitate 2.50 lakh homeless families by 2019 through the Ashrayan-2 project.

“The Ashrayan-2 project under the Prime Minister’s Office is working to alleviate the poverty of the landless and homeless families by focusing on human resource development,” Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, Project Director of Ashrayan-2 told BSS here today.

He said the Ashrayan-2 project has rehabilitated 40,290 landless families through constructing barrack, while 45,000 homeless families got allotment for setting up houses on their own land.

The project director said the government would also build houses for 1.70 lakh poor families on their land and 80,000 families would be brought under rehabilitation through barrack in order to improve their living conditions, education, health and earning opportunities.

“The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would rehabilitate all homeless families and make them income generating forces,” Shamsuddin said.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initiated the Ashrayan project during 1996-2001 tenure aimed at bringing all homeless and landless people under home facility.

Under Ashrayan-2 project, a total of 1,43,692 landless and homeless families have already been rehabilitated and provided 14 days training to at least two members of the target families for making them income generating from 1997 to June 2016.

Of the trained family members, one of them usually get one time loan of Taka 10,000 for launching their income generation activities.

The Ashrayan-2 project rehabilitated 37,779 out of 50,000 homeless and landless families from July 2010 to June 2016 and the rest of families would be brought under housing facility.

In this way, the government rehabilitated 47,210 homeless families from 1997 to 2002, while Ashrayan project (Phase-2) rehabilitated 58,703 families in 2010, the project details said.

Besides, the government is providing training to ultra poor people, giving interest-free loans and electricity connection aimed at creating dynamic village and stimulating socio-economic development of the people as part of a poverty alleviation campaign, it said.

The project under the PMO is leading the 12 implementing agencies of the project including the Armed Forces Division, the LGED, the Cooperatives Department, the Youth Development Department, Public Works Department, REB, district and upazila administration, Social Welfare Department, Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Forest Department, PDB and union parishad are the coordinating agencies.