DEHRADUN: Officials involved in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) are facing a unique problem as many Muslim women beneficiaries of the scheme are insisting on having their pictures clicked only in a burqa.
Beneficiaries, all of whom are women, are allotted an amount of Rs 1.60 lakh to construct a pucca house under the scheme. However, before releasing the payment, the beneficiary’s picture has to be taken and uploaded on the PMAY portal along with land details. But in doing so, officials are facing resistance, especially in Muslim-dominated areas.
In Dehradun, Roorkee and Haridwar, for instance, many women have objected to lifting their burqa to have their pictures clicked. After failing to convince the women, officials have now hit upon a novel idea and agreed to have their pictures clicked in a burqa as they stand in front of their respective plots and hold a placard with their name on it.
"We have tried our utmost to convince the women, telling them that having a picture clicked is for their own benefit. But they have resisted, citing cultural compulsions. We faced a similar problem in the hills also as village women, too, are shy but many of them after some persuasion, became ready to have their pictures taken," said Bansidhar Tiwari, chief development officer (CDO), Dehradun.
The PMAY scheme was started last year for people in rural areas who did not have access to pucca houses. The scheme came with a rider that the owner of the house should be a woman family member. This was done to ensure women in poor households got a sense of financial security.
Please click here to read more.