From 50 lakh homes to ‘Annapurna Divas’: Suvendu Adhikari outlines Modi birthday plans in Bengal

The promise of a house in a woman’s name is set to become a major feature of Bengal’s next housing push, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari saying a list of 50 lakh beneficiaries is being prepared under the PM Awaas Yojana.

Speaking at a programme in Salt Lake on Thursday, Adhikari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the preparation of the beneficiary list and that all new houses sanctioned under the programme would be owned by women.

The announcement puts women at the centre of the state’s proposed expansion of the rural housing scheme, with the government now working towards identifying 50 lakh beneficiaries, according to the chief minister.

CM Adhikari also announced that September 17, Modi’s birthday, will be observed as ‘Annapurna Divas’ every year in Bengal, linking the occasion to the Annapurna Yojana, a financial assistance scheme for women.

‘Every year, September 17 will be celebrated as ‘Annapurna Divas’ because the Annapurna Yojana was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guarantee. We have already implemented it for a large section of women,’ he added.

The Chief Minister said the state had also constituted a commission headed by retired Justice Samapti Chatterjee to inquire into atrocities against women.

‘In the last four months, we have set up a commission headed by Justice Samapti Chatterjee (retired) to inquire into atrocities on women in the state,’ he said.

Adhikari asserted that the BJP government was committed to ensuring that no woman in Bengal faced atrocities.

He also appealed to women to take an active role in efforts to make the state addiction-free.

Women sports personalities, including Poulami Ghatak, Indu Puri and Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, inaugurated the programme.