House lost, hope stalled: Told to raze mud home, 80-year-old widow left homeless as PMAY glitch halts aid; family lives under tree | Bhopal News
MHOW: No typhoon has blown the roof over Gaura Bai’s head. The storm lurked in a software glitch of PMAY, the govt scheme supposed to provide the MP octogenarian widow a house. The snag remains unresolved, forcing Gaura to live under a Babool tree along with her widowed daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in a village in Dhar district for the last 10 months.The trouble began when Gaura was informed by officials that she would get a house under PM Awas Yojna (PMAY) but must demolish her mud house to secure the benefit. “They asked me to demolish my house so that during a site inspection, no house is seen at the place,” Gaura said. Officials claim the system is not processing her application any further.80-year-old razed mud house hoping to get pucca one soonThe 80-year-old razed her mud house in Lohari village of Kukshi tehsil in Sept 2024 on the directives of officials, hoping to get a pucca house soon. Since then, days, weeks and months have passed as Gaura, daughter-in-law Radha Bai and her three children brave winter, summer and now, monsoon, under open sky. “One day the village sarpanch and panchayat secretary told me that my house was sanctioned. Taking them seriously, I razed the house. When I contacted officials for sanctioning money, they told me the process would take a few days. Days have turned into months under this tree but the promised money is yet to come,” Gaura said. Sarpanch Amar Singh Waskel pleaded helplessness. “After her name was reflected in the list of beneficiaries, we informed her. When her application was processed based on her job card, the online application did not move forward. Nothing can be done at the village level. She will have to go to the collector’s office,” Amar said. Janpad panchayat CEO of Nisarpur block, Kanchan Waskel, explained, “When her application is logged in, the system shows an error. I have directed staff to check and find a solution,” Kanchan said. Asked about the matter, Dhar collector Priyank Mishra offered hope. “I was not aware of the issue. Since the matter has now come to my notice, I will get it examined on priority,” Mishra said.
