Odisha Cabinet approves ‘Mo Ghara’ scheme; know eligibility criteria and other details

Bhubaneswar: With completion of four years of BJD’s fifth term in office, Odisha Government today approved 18 key proposals including ‘Mo Ghara’ scheme.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

A week after Cabinet reshuffle inducting three new ministers to council of ministers in Odisha, the State Government approved 18 proposals introducing Mo Ghara (Government Housing Assistance in Rural Areas), a new housing scheme, in view of 2024 elections.

Under ‘Mo Ghara’ Yojana in Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, the State Government will provide financial assistance to meet aspiration of the lower and lower middle-class households in rural areas.

The scheme under Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department will cover all such families who were left out in the existing housing schemes due to stringent eligibility criteria or due to insufficient allocation and also those who had received housing assistance of smaller amount in the past and now wants to upgrade or expand their houses.

Under the scheme, a beneficiary can avail housing loan upto Rs. 3 Lakh which can be repaid in 10 years excluding 1 year moratorium period in easy installments. They can opt for one of the four slabs of the loan amount – Rs. 1 Lakh, Rs 1.5 Lakh, Rs 2 Lakh and Rs 3 Lakh.

The government may bear the expenses of Rs 2150 crore for approximate 4 lakh beneficiaries (1 Lakh from each loan slab) over a period of two years for the scheme.

Eligibility Criteria:

The following categories of rural households will be eligible under this scheme.

1. lf the family is staying in a kutcha house or one pucca room with RCC roof.
2. lf the family has either not availed any Govt. housing assistance or has availed assistance of below Rs.70,000 /- in the past.
3. lf the income of the family per month is below Rs.25, 000.
4. lf the family does not possess a non-commercial motorized Four-Wheeler for personal use.
5. If the family does not have any member as a regular Government / PSU employee or drawing a monthly pension for the service period from Government / PSU.
6. lf the family owns below 5 acres of irrigated land or below 15 acres non-irrigated land.
7. State Government will release capital subsidy to the loan account of the beneficiaries on completion of the house. Enhanced capital subsidy will be available to the vulnerable categories like SC/ST and PWD headed households. The rates of the subsidy as decided by the State Cabinet today is as follows:

8. The capital subsidy released to the loan accounts of the beneficiaries will result in significant reduction in EMI for repayment and thus make the repayment more affordable.
9. Banks will not charge any processing fee from the beneficiary for sanction of the loan.
10. ln order to further reduce the financial burden for the beneficiaries, the registration fee and stamp duties required during mortgage of tittle deed have been waived off by the State Government. The charges for getting certified copies of relevant documents from the Sub-Registrar offices as required by bank for processing of loan applications under this scheme will also be waived.
11. The legal consultation fee is also standardized to Rs. 1000/- maximum, which State Government will reimburse to the banks.
12. The beneficiaries can also avail support under relevant schemes of rural sanitation, drinking water, rural electrification etc. if found eligible and not availed earlier.