A two-day meeting began at CYSD on Monday in collaboration with different civil society organizations deliberating on the issues related to social housing, with a clear future roadmap on disaster resilient habitat planning and social housing for rural Odisha.
The current housing schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana are being implemented with defined guidelines.
However, a shift from beneficiary approach to ownership driven approach was emphasized in the deliberation. Further, wider discussion on social housing is required for a shared understanding.
To make the social housing programme successful, it is necessary to facilitate access to construction materials, services, technology, housing finance and management process, it was felt.
A holistic housing programme with all necessary facilities exploring opportunities from all possible sources including toilet under Swachh Bharat Mission, electricity under Saubhagya, drinking water under pipe water supply programmes, and labour component under MGNREGS, is the need for rural Odisha, said former Union Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Jugal Mohapatra in his key note address.
Other aspects including alternative choices in terms of design and materials, focus on rural skilling programme to meet the service needs, facilitating access to housing finance, addressing issues relating to land ownership are also important to be looked into, he added.
The workshop was attended by a wide range of delegates from different sectors including civil society, architects, social housing experts across the country, officials from the Government, bankers, financial institutions.
Padma Shri Dr G Shankar, Chairman, Habitat Technology Group, Dr Nila Madhab Prusty, president, Humanitarian Aid International, Sailendra Pattnaik, CRS, Alok Pattnaik and Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, chairman, CYSD were on the dais.