PMAY houses in Bengal to be registered in women's names: CM Adhikari

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced that houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the state will henceforth be registered in the names of women members of the beneficiary families, describing the move as part of the BJP-led government's commitment to women's empowerment.

Adhikari made the announcement at an “Annapurna Day” event held in Salt Lake near Kolkata on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

“A list has been prepared for the construction of more than 50 lakh new houses in West Bengal. These houses will be registered in the names of women members of the families. All these houses will be owned by women. Agreements will be made in their names. We will make women the owners of the houses under the PMAY scheme,” he said.

He said the move would mark the state government's commitment to ensuring women's empowerment.

Adhikari added that the objective of his government was not merely to provide financial allowances to women but also to ensure their development and empowerment.

“The first thing that we have done in these four months is to form a commission to investigate the atrocities committed against our mothers and sisters. Not a single event of crime against women will be taken lightly. This is our commitment,” he said.

He also said the state government was taking strict action against child marriages and cases involving girls becoming pregnant below the age of 18.

Speaking at the event, Adhikari announced the fourth instalment of the Annapurna Yojana. He said money had already been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 1.5 crore women and that the remaining eligible beneficiaries would receive the amount during the day.

“As much as Rs 3,000 will be transferred to the accounts of women every month,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed the programme virtually, said beneficiaries were not required to pay any “commission” or “cut-money” to receive the funds in their bank accounts.

“The mothers and sisters of West Bengal played an important role in the transformation that took place in West Bengal on May 4 after the Assembly election results. So, the 'first test' of the new BJP government in this state was the development of women. Our motto is talk less and act more. The Annapurna Yojana started with that thought,” Modi said.

The programme was organised as part of the state's observance of Modi's birthday as “Annapurna Day”.

With IANS inputs