Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over 22,101 more houses under Ashrayan-2 project to landless and homeless families on Wednesday as 12 more districts are set to be declared homeless and landless-free.
"With the 12 districts and 123 upazilas, a total of 21 districts and 334 upazilas throughout the country are becoming as homeless and landless family-free ones on that day," Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah told a press conference at Karabi Hall of Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Monday afternoon.
PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin and Project Director of Ashrayan-2 Project Abu Saleh Mohammad Ferdous Khan were present on the occasion.
Tofazzel Hossain said the premier will make the announcement and open the distribution of semi-pucca houses for the homeless and landless families through a video conference from her official Ganabhaban residence.
He said the premier will hand over the keys of 22,101 houses along with the ownership documents of a two-decimal of lands to the families. Some 115,000 people will be rehabilitated in the houses on that day, he said.
The principal secretary said under the Ashrayan project and other programs, a total of 829,607 families have been rehabilitated so far since 1,997 while the number of rehabilitated people is 4,148,035 (estimated as five persons in a family).
Ashrayan Project of the PMO has already rehabilitated 555,617 families (2,778,085) people directly while 273,990 families were rehabilitated under different programmes of concerned government offices, including Land Ministry, Disaster Management and Relief Ministry and Liberation War Affairs Ministry.
Noting that some 4,148,035 people were given houses, he said: "It is a rare instance in the world as there is no program in the world that the landless people are being given free houses and lands."
Tofazzel Hossain said not only houses and lands are given, but also free electricity connections are given, the water supply is arranged, and other facilities are ensured for them. "So, there is no such a massive (rehabilitation) program in any other country of the world. In this case, Bangladesh is unique," he said.
He said the rate of extreme poor and floating people has come down significantly due to the rehabilitation through providing the landless people with houses.
Earlier, Sheikh Hasina handed over the houses to the landless and homeless families on five occasions (since Mujib Year).
PM will be connected with the beneficiaries and local people of three places while distributing the houses on the sixth occasion on Wednesday.
The three places re Barasat Sonar Bangla Palli Ashrayan project under Terokhada upazila in Khulna district, Chakla Ashrayan-2 project under Bera upazila in Pabna and Amanullahpur Ashrayan project under Begumganj in Noakhali.
The principal secretary said the prime minister will declare Manikganj, Rajbari, Mymensingh, Sherpur, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Kushtia, Pirojpur and Jhalakathi as homeless-landless free districts.
Earlier she declared nine other districts as landless and homeless free which included Madaripur, Gazipur, Narsigdi, Panchagarh, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Chuadanga and Magura.
This is the second round under the fourth phase of the Ashrayan-2 project while 39,365 houses were distributed in the first stage on March 22, 2023, he added.
A total of 63,999 houses were distributed under the first phase on January 23, 2021, 53,330 under second phase on June 20, 2021, and 59,133 two-stages under the third phase during the Mujib-Barshao.
With the distribution of 22,101 more houses, the total number will stand at 238,851 under the Ashrayan-2 Project.
The principal secretary said if anyone of these areas becomes homeless and landless due to river erosion, natural disaster or any other reason, they will be given houses along with land.
He said ownership of land is given to both husband and wife and land registration and mutation are also given after the names of both husband and wife.
Tofazzel Hossain Miah said the government is not only building houses for the project on khas land rather lands are being bought from Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust to build houses.
Donations from individuals are also received to this end, he mentioned.
Replying to a question, about when the government will start building houses for those who have not houses or better houses but lands, he said now the government is providing houses only to landless and homeless people under the project and after the end of this process, it will begin constructing houses for those who do not have houses or whose houses are in a dilapidated state.
The 123 upazilas will be declared landless and homeless family-free ones on Wednesday.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced the rehabilitation program for homeless people in 1972.
Following the footprints of Bangabandhu, her daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the initiative to provide ownership of houses and lands to homeless and landless people through the Ashrayan Project in 1997.
