Govt launches housing scheme for VJNTs

The government has launched the Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana to bring people of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) into the mainstream of development, raise their standard of living, increase their source of income, end nomad wandering, and provide them with a permanent home. This scheme is only for rural areas, and it is implemented through the social welfare department. Therefore, people belonging to VJNT should take maximum advantage of this scheme.

The government launched the Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana to provide permanent housing to VJNTs. The original plan was to build a colony and all the facilities for 20 families on one hectare of land. But now this scheme has come in a modified form, and instead of a colony, gharkuls are built individually on the lines of ‘Ramai Gharkul Yojana’. This scheme is for families belonging to economically weaker sections of VJNTS. Under this scheme, Rs 1.20 lakh is available for a house.

The beneficiary family should belong to the VJNT category and earn their livelihood by wandering from village to village. The annual income of the beneficiary family should be less than Rs. 1.20 lakh, and it should not own a house. The family should live in a hut, a mud house, or a Pala. It should be a resident of Maharashtra. Gharkul Yojana should not have been availed anywhere in the state.

The applicant needs to submit a caste certificate, an income certificate, a domicile certificate, and an affidavit stating that no house has been taken anywhere in the state. The application should be made in the gram panchayat through the gram sevak. From gram panchayat, the application will go to the panchayat samiti.