Bihar News : The Centre will develop haat centres in every district of Bihar in phases to provide national and international market access to products made by Jeevika Didis and women associated with self-help groups. The Bihar government will also be allowed to name the haat centres according to its preference.
Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the decision on Thursday. He said the haat centres would provide Jeevika Didis with dedicated spaces to sell their products.
Demand for Large Haat Centres at Tourist Destinations
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary had requested the Union minister to develop large haat centres at religious and historical tourist destinations such as Nalanda, Buxar, Bhagalpur and Motihari.
The proposal aims to provide better national and international market opportunities for products made by women associated with Jeevika and self-help groups.
The Chief Minister said 1.81 crore women are associated with self-help groups in Bihar, of whom more than 30 lakh have become Lakhpati Didis.
He said better market access for their products is necessary to further strengthen the economic self-reliance of women.
Bihar Has Received Around 50 Lakh Permanent Houses
Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Bihar has received around 50 lakh permanent houses so far. He said 11 lakh 11 thousand 927 new houses will be provided in the state over the next two years.
He added that eligibility criteria have also been improved to ensure that more poor families can benefit from housing schemes.
The Union minister assured the Chief Minister that efforts would be made to provide housing to families that were left out of the state government’s survey and do not have permanent houses.
He said no poor person would be allowed to remain without a permanent house.
Bihar Among Leading States in Farmer ID Creation
The Union minister said Bihar is among the leading states in the country in creating Farmer IDs. Around 53 lakh Farmer IDs have been generated in the state so far.
Chouhan said middlemen earlier played a role at several levels in housing schemes, due to which poor beneficiaries often did not receive the full sanctioned amount.
Under the Centre’s current system, the entire sanctioned amount reaches the beneficiary’s account. He described it as a transparent arrangement for the poor.
Beneficiaries Receive Symbolic House Keys and Approval Letters
During a programme held at Bapu Sabhagar, symbolic house keys were handed over to Sushma Devi, Shobha Devi and Anjuma Devi of Danapur Sarari, and Rinki Devi and Maya Devi of Maner.
Housing approval letters were provided to Rakesh Ram, Preeti Kumari, Tunni Devi, Janki Devi and Shahjadi of Naubatpur.
Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar and Rural Development Department Additional Chief Secretary HR Srinivas also addressed the programme.
Chief Minister’s Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh, Jeevika Chief Executive Officer Himanshu Sharma, IAS officer Sumit Kumar and other officials were also present.
3.90 Lakh Eligible Families Identified in the District
A survey in the district has identified 3.90 lakh eligible families for permanent housing. A total of 11 lakh 11 thousand 927 new houses are to be built across the state in the financial year 2026-27.
However, it is not yet clear how many houses will be allocated to Patna district.
According to DRDA Director Anjan Dutta, eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are identified every year through geo-tagging within the prescribed timeline.
Once the prescribed process is completed, it is generally not possible to provide housing through the normal procedure to new applications received later.
However, in special circumstances, permanent housing can be provided to extremely needy families under the Chief Minister Housing Scheme.
