AGARTALA, May 30 (TIWN): A review meeting of schedule caste welfare department was held on Friday at secretariat presided by Ratan Bhowmick, Minister of SC and OBC welfare. Later speaking to reporters the minister said that he took stock of the latest situation on progress of ongoing projects of relocating Harijans colonies to new areas.

He said that 60 families near GBP hospital will be shited at Old Agartala block where a minister Ratan Bhowmik said that residential units for 40 families are almost complete will be ready by July this year. Each family was granted a onetime fund of Rs. 1.5 lakh for construction of a house, the land and other civic amenities will be provided by the government.  While the RD Department was entrusted with the job of constructing houses of forty families remaining twenty others will take the money and construct their own house.

Speaking to reporters at the civil secretariat here this evening, the minister said that the District Magistrate (West) was given a fund of Rs. 3 crore 24 lakh for the project. He added that construction work for a new residential facility to house twenty-two urban poor families living inside the IGM Hospital at Agartala is currently underway. The Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) was asked to find suitable land plots to house 22 more families. All 44 families are currently residing in a Harijan Colony in close vicinity of the hospital.

Secretary and Director for SC Welfare, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) Abhishek Chanda, BDO and SDM of Jirania sub-division along with officials of the Power Department attended the review meeting today.