Relief emanating from the end of five-year long wait to feel the comfort of a roof over their heads was evident on the faces of slum-dwellers from Rugrigada area of the city as they turned up in force at Ranchi Municipal Corporation offices.
Here they drew lottery to receive the serial number of their flat from those constructed at Rugrigada, the very place they were displaced from, to rehabilitate them under the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) under Jawaharlal Nehru urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
A total of 100 flats were distributed through this lottery on Thursday. The recipients were those who were displaced from Rugrigada back in 2011 for encroaching on land owned by the urban local body. The vacated piece of land in Rugrigada was then used for constructing BSUP flats to re-establish people living here before.
“My mother passed away in wait for a home after we were driven out. Since we were displaced, living conditions had been abysmal for us all. But as we are getting homes now, I hope all that changes for good,” said Pawan Kumar Sharma, an auto-rickshaw driver, while waiting for his turn to draw chits with house numbers written on them.
Beneficiaries have been asked to submit Rs35,000 as they are supposed to pay ten per cent of the total cost involved in construction of each flat. Where some have already submitted the stipulated amount completely or partially, some still have not. Beneficiaries yet to submit their dues have been given one week’s time to submit the rest of the amount, informed Mayor Asha lakra.
“As of now, ownership papers for the flats are being prepared. We will formally handover the flats shortly. The problems pertaining to water supply and drains seen in Madhukam BSUP flats have not been repeated here,” she added.