According to sources at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Prime Minister will join the inauguration programme virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban at 10:30am.

This will be part of the government’s initiative to provide houses to all landless and homeless families on the occasion of “Mujib Borsho” as the Prime Minister has mentioned several times that no one in the country will remain without a home.

The government has constructed 66,189 houses spending Tk 1,168 crore for the homeless and landless families, a move the world sees for the first time, PMO sources said.

They said each unit has two rooms, a kitchen, a toilet and a veranda costing Tk 1.75 lakh. Another 100,000 houses will be distributed among such people next month, they added.

Besides, the Ashrayan Project under the PMO will rehabilitate 3,715 families by constructing 743 barracks under 44 project villages in 36 upazilas of 21 districts during the Mujib Borsho.

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It prepared a list of 885,622 families in 2020, of which 293,361 are landless and homeless while 592,261 have just 1-10 decimals of land but no housing facility.

The Ashrayan Project also rehabilitated 320,058 landless and homeless families from 1997 to December 2020.

On the other hand, the Ashran-2 Project (July 2010-June 2022) aims to rehabilitate 250,000 more landless, homeless and displaced families spending Tk 4,840.28 crore.

It has so far rehabilitated 192,277 landless and homeless families across the country between July 2010 and June 2019.

A total of 48,500 landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated in barracks while 143,777 having own land (1-10 decimals but unable to construct houses) in semi-barracks, corrugated iron-sheet barracks and specially designed houses.

Alongside the houses, the ownership documents of a two decimal house land were given to each of 66,189 families.

The government is arranging accommodation for the homeless and also the landless families under Ashrayan-2 project, a housing project run by the PMO.

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All the 66,189 houses have been constructed on Khas lands, said Project Director of Ashrayan-2 Mahbub Hossain.

“The houses and lands are being given to the poor families in the first phase as part of the government’s aim to ensure that none will remain homeless,” he said.

There is no such instance in the world that so many houses with land ownership are provided to the homeless families at a time, he said.

“The Prime Minister is setting the example of ‘mother of humanity’ in the world giving houses to so many homeless families,” he said.

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None will remain homeless in the country in the Mujib Year, he quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

So, the government will continue allocating fund for houses for the homeless families until their right of accommodation is ensured, he added.

The government has a plan to provide modern abodes to 900,000 homeless families in phases under the Ashrayan project aiming to ensure houses for all in the country, said the Project Director.

The government has enlisted 293,361 homeless and also landless families as well as 592,261 homeless families throughout the country.