Centre's listless attitude delays more than 5K villagers get their houses

Kolkata: More than 5,000 small scale fishermen and villagers at five mouzas under Ramnagar II in East Midnapore are not getting houses under the Bangla Awas Yojana Project for more than two years as the Coastal Regulation

Zone (CRZ) mapping was not properly carried out by the

Centre.

The mapping of CRZ areas and the demarcation of plots in the coastal regions are carried out by the Union Ministry of environment with the help of the state government. But due to a 'lackadaisical' attitude by the Centre has brought misery to 500-odd small scale fisher folks in the area. Despite being enlisted they do not get a house under the state government project. Various fishermen organizations have repeatedly taken up with the issue with the Centre and the state government but no steps have been taken yet. Purba Medinipur Matsyajibi Forum (Branch of Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum) has written to the district magistrate of East Midnapore in this regard.

Debasis Shyamal, President of Purba Medinipur Matsyajibi Forum said: "CRZ demarcation is yet to be done at various mouzas like Dakshinpurusottampur, Shilampur, Mandarmani, Dadanpatrabar and Sonamui. These are all coastal areas. The

villagers are entitled to get

houses under both Centre and state government housing projects. But the poor people are deprived due to no fault of their own."

The fishermen organizations claimed that as per the Coastal Regulation Zone 2019 notification, one can set up a house within a plot of 300 square meter in the coastal areas. The people living in the regions have the right to get a house provided that their houses are constructed within 300 square meter.

"We have urged the DM to initiate the construction of houses in these Mouzas as there is no restriction. The district administration can allow construction on the CRZ areas for the fishermen as it does not flout the provision of the law. The district administrative official is trying to keep aside the matter citing the cause of non completion of CRZ demarcation," said Pradip Chatterjee, Convenor of National Platform for Small Scale Fishworkers.

The fishermen organizations also urged the local administration to prepare a cyclone resilient habitat reconstruction policy so that the people who have lost their houses in the cyclone Amphan in May this year in the coastal zones can repair their houses. The state governments had however provided all sorts of assistance to the affected people in all the affected districts.