The government has decided to rehabilitate 2.10 lakh homeless families by June, 2019 through the ongoing Ashrayan project.
“The Ashrayan-2 project under the Prime Minister’s Office is working to improve the living of landless and homeless families by focusing on human resource development,” Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Project Director of Ashrayan-2 Project told BSS here on Wednesday.
He said the Ashrayan-2 project would also build houses for 1.70 lakh poor families on their land, as it is working directly to uphold human rights of the targeted people through improving their living, education, health and opening their earning opportunities.
The project run by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sent a proposal to the Planning Commission for extending its tenure up to June 2019, the project director said.
“The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would rehabilitate all the homeless families and make them income generating forces,” Shamsuddin said.
He said the Ashrayan campaign already rehabilitated 1,43,692 landless and homeless families and provided 14 days training to at least two members of the targeted families for making them income generating forces from 1997 to June 2016.
One of each trained family members would be given a one-time loan of Taka 10,000 for launching their income generation activities, he said.
According to project details, the Ashrayan-2 Project rehabilitated 37,779 out of 50,000 homeless and landless families from July 2010 to June 2016 and rest of the families would be brought under housing facility.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initiated the Ashrayan project during 1996-2001 aimed at bringing all homeless and landless people under home 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 to infuse dynamism into the rural life for furthering the socio-economic development as a part of the poverty alleviation campaign.
The project is leading 12 implementing agencies 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 parishads are the coordinating agencies.
