At present 32 out of the total 64 districts of the country now have no families without home and land as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday declared 11 more districts landless-homeless-free.
With the handing over of 5,397 houses on Tuesday, the ruling Awami League government in its different tenures has provided houses and land to 8,35,004 families since 1997 where 41,53,397 people have been benefited directly in many ways.
According to sources, those 32 districts so far have been declared homeless-landless by handing over of houses and land to 66,863 families under the Ashrayan Prakalpa-2 in the last two years of the present Awami League government.
Districts which have been declared homeless-landless free are Tangail, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Kishoreganj, Jamalpur, Brahmanbaria, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Patuakhali, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Manikganj, Rajbari, Mymensingh, Sherpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Kushtia, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Panchagarh, Magura, Madaripur, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj and Chuadanga.
Of the 32 districts, 11 districts-- Tangail, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Kishoreganj, Jamalpur, Brahmanbaria, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Patuakhali, Sylhet and Moulvibazar were declared homeless-landless free by handing over of 5,397 on Tuesday.
Earlier, on August 22 this year 12 districts-- Manikganj, Rajbari, Mymensingh, Sherpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Kushtia, Pirojpur and Jhalakathi—were announced homeless-landless free by handing over of 22,101 houses to 22,101 families.
Besides, nine districts were declared homeless-landless free by handing over of houses and land to 39,365 families on March 22 last year.
According to officials concerned, the Awami League government, in its tenures since 1997, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, rehabilitated 8,35,004 families and since then 41,53,397 others have been benefited directly in many ways.
As per the desire of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that none will remain homeless or landless, his daughter Sheikh Hasina has been completing the rehabilitation processes through Ashrayan Prakalpa and different other projects.
Bangabandhu had introduced the rehabilitation programme for homeless people in 1972. But unfortunately the project could not be completed due to his tragic assassination along with most of his family members on August 15 in 1975.
Following in the footsteps of the Bangabandhu, his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the initiative to provide ownership of houses and land to homeless and landless people.
After Sheikh Hasina came to power for the first time in 1996, she resumed the rehabilitation programme in 1997 through the Ashrayan Prakalpa.
According to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office, under the Ashrayan Prakalpa the government is providing a semi-pukka house on a two-decimal piece of land to each of the families alongside connection of electricity, water supply and other required amenities for free.
Under the Ashrayan Prakalpa and other programmes, a total of 82,9,607 families have been rehabilitated so far since 1997.
Of them, more than 28 lakh people have benefited through the Ashrayan Prakalpa while 11,9400 more people have been rehabilitated through different other programmes on the occasion of the ‘Mujib Borsho’.
According to sources, not only the homeless and landless poor, people from the backward societies like different ethnic groups, snake charmers and third gender have also been provided with homes and lands under different other projects.
Experts came up with the opinion that the number of extremely poor and floating people has come down remarkably due to the prime minister's dream project to rehabilitate marginalized people.
The prime objective of the Ashrayan Prakalpa is to eradicate poverty and improve the livelihood of marginal people apart from ensuring their economic and social security.
