Dimapur, September 14 (MExN): Considering all aspects of the diverse tribal, social, traditional and local requirements in Nagaland, a rural housing model based on local living requirement and local low cost technology has been framed, Nagaland Parliamentary Secretary of Rural Development S. Pangnyu Phom said today. Speaking at an award function organized by the India Today Group in New Delhi on Monday, the parliamentary secretary explained that the houses are constructed with the traditional community practice of contributing free labour and materials such as split-bamboo walls and timber. Through such local adaptation, the programme gained a very high level of social acceptance and achievement, the Nagaland representative said.
More importantly it motivated the people towards building up a sense of contribution and ownership to the programme while also decreasing the attitude of dependency and instead increasing community participation. “We have achieved 100% housing coverage in many villages and it is our endeavor that through our VDBs we will prevail in overcoming and meeting at least the needs of providing shelter to the poor homeless and shelter-less rural brethren”, Pangnyu said. He also said that Nagaland has been maintaining status quo on rural urban population which indicates that rural migration is being contained. According to him, this has been made possible through novel schemes such as the Indra Awaz Yojana where the poorest of the poor citizens are given an “identity in having a home and the dignity to having a house of their own”.
