<p><strong>On Ground At The Largest PM Awas Project Delivering 30,000 Homes To Women Labourers In Solapur</strong></p>.<p>Dear Reader, </p><p>Actual governance is boring. It is equally demanding. Intentions count for nothing. Efforts count for everything. But even they will add up to zero if there is no money. </p><p>On 19 February, Prime Minister Modi handed over keys of their respective houses to 15,024 beneficiaries of a government housing project in Solapur, Maharashtra. In total, 30,000 houses have been constructed in the Solapur project. </p><p>The story of how the project went from the conception stage to the funding stage to actual construction is a lesson in cooperation. </p><ul><li><p>A group of well-meaning activists in Solapur, associated with the Communist Party, wanted to organise the residents of a local slum so that they could demand better housing from the government. Reaching out to everyone, and convincing everyone to get on board took a few years.</p></li><li><p>Once the land was bought after much efforts, came the question of actual housing. </p></li><li><p>Thankfully, the then CM of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, approved the project and followed through its implementation. Which led to the next hurdle. </p></li><li><p>Which bank will fund housing for people employed in the unorganised sector who barely had any documents to prove their income or creditworthiness? </p></li><li><p>How were the banks convinced? How did they do their due diligence? How many other levels of cooperation went into this project? </p></li></ul><p>My colleague, Ankit Saxena, <a href="https://swarajyamag.com/reports/on-ground-at-the-largest-pm-awas-project-delivering-thirty-thousand-homes-to-women-labourers-in-solapur">tells the whole story in this ground report</a>. </p><p>Until next time, <br></p><p><em>Arush Tandon</em>, </p><p><a href="http://swarajyamag.com/">Swarajya</a></p>
