Owning a home has empowered country’s women, says Modi
BHOPAL: The ownership of homes by women has empowered them and strengthened their say in financial matters of the household, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after inaugurating 521,000 houses of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY)-Gramin in Madhya Pradesh.
Addressing the ‘Grah Pravesham’ programme, to hand over new houses to their owners, via video conferencing, Modi said his government has given topmost priority to providing houses to the poor people. So far, 2.5 crore houses have been constructed under the PMAY scheme in the country. The women are co-owners of about two crore of these houses, he said, adding that a provision has been made in this year’s budget to construct 80 lakh more houses under this scheme.
Modi said out of 30.5 lakh houses sanctioned under the PMAY, about 24 lakh have been completed in Madhya Pradesh which has also benefited the tribal population.
“The ownership of houses by women has strengthened their participation in financial decisions of households,” he said.
Modi also said universities across the world and in the country, including Madhya Pradesh, should take up women empowerment through PMAY as a case study. The pucca houses for the poor is not only a government scheme, but also a commitment to give confidence to the poor to come out of poverty, he said. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan participated in the programme from Chattarpur in the state.
On the occasion, Modi accused the previous governments of using four crore fake ration cards to siphon off benefits meant for the poor.
“When these people were in the government, four crore fake people were looting ration meant for the poor. This ration was being sold in the market and money reached the black accounts of such people (who were in government),” Modi said.