Ashrayan Project is empowering the marginalised people through inclusive development, as this housing project plays a vital role in alleviating poverty to help the country attain at least eight targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Ashrayan Project is now being used aptly as Sheikh Hasina Model for Inclusive Development, which has ushered in a new era of growth towards building a Bangladesh free from poverty and hunger.
Through the project, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina introduced a new dimension of growth and socio-economic development for the homeless populace based on the philosophy - ‘No one will be left behind.’
"Through the Ashrayan Project, the government is allocating land and building homes for free for the homeless and landless people, and supporting them to become self-reliant by engaging themselves in income-generating activities," Ashrayan-2 Project Senior Assistant Secretary Md Sayeadul Arefin told BSS.
He said the initiative is not only providing the beneficiaries with land and housing, but also ensuring their inclusion in the development pathway by providing them with basic needs like food, clothing, accommodation, education and healthcare.
Ultra-poor, beggars, widows, the elderly people, women abandoned by their husbands, insolvent freedom fighters, climate victims, special communities such as the third gender, Dalit, Harijan community, small ethnic groups, physically challenged people etc. are given priority in the selection of beneficiaries.
Mastu Mia, 35 who used to live in a rented tin shed house in Nandanpur village with mother and three brothers.
As he belonged to the Hijra community, he did not get much support from the local people.
“I used to dance and sing on various occasions including weddings to earn money to lead my livelihood,” said Mastu Mia.
His life was endowed with sufferings and humiliation. On the occasion of Mujib Barsha, in Khatihata shelter project of Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila, he is currently living there with his family after receiving a gift of two decimals of land along with a semi-pucca house under the Ashrayan-2 Project.
The market value of this property adjacent to Dhaka Sylhet highway is about Tk 6 lakh. Mastu Mia, who had to live in rented house of someone else, got a permanent address and a chance to lead a better life.
He owned a grocery store next to the project with some of his savings and rearing poultry. With the income, he bought a CNG in instalments a total of Tk 3 lakh.
Geeta Rani Das, 32, used to be disoriented thinking how her husband Bablu Das, 40, three daughters and a son would survive in the battle of survival from the sun, rain and storms in a meagre lifestyle.
She lived in a rented house in a slum at Dumuria upazila in Khulna district. They could not even send their children to school during the difficult days.
Reality is often more beautiful than imagination as a memorable day came in the life of Geeta Rani Das.
In 2021, Geeta Rani got a semi-pucca house built on two decimals of land at Kanthaltala Ashrayan Project of Dumuria Upazila in Khulna given by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a priceless gift on the occasion of Mujib Barsho.
"It was my beyond imagination that I would have a house of my own. I am very happy now as I got a house along with land," she said.
Her husband Bablu Das now prepares cane baskets, twigs, cages and sells those in the Kanthaltala market.
Gita Rani supports her husband's work side by side with doing household works. Husband's income and what she earns from his own work is enough for them. Boys and girls are studying in a nearby school now.
The stories are similar to thousands of landless and homeless people who are beneficiaries of the Ashrayan Project.
Under the ‘Ashrayan-2 Project, the government ensured free housing to about 2,37,831 landless-homeless families on the occasion of Mujib Year alone, according to the project details.
A total of 5,55,617 landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated across the country till to date under the project since 1997.
Of them, 1,60,573 families have been rehabilitated through barrack houses, 1,53,853 families by building houses on land, owned by beneficiaries, 640 climate victim families on free flats in multi-storied buildings at Khurushkul Union of Cox’s Bazar district, 600 families of small ethnic communities through specially designed houses.
Some 100 families affected by river erosion, 1,000 families affected by Cyclone Amphan have also been rehabilitated.
At the behest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 400 square feet semi-pucca two rooms single-unit house was introduced on the occasion of the Mujib Year. The houses come with a long veranda in the front, a kitchen, and a sanitary latrine in the back. Apart from free electricity connections, access to safe drinking
water for the beneficiaries is also ensured.
Ashrayan is a greater and broader concept than a mere housing project. Each of the landless-homeless beneficiaries gets ownership of two decimals of land along with a well-designed sustainable house. Consequently, a large number of people are leaving behind their landless identity. Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s directives to not to leave anyone landless-homeless, the project has recently seen 52 Upazilas (sub-districts) and two districts landless-homeless free.
The reason for Bangladesh’s fast economic growth and poverty eradication is the policy of inclusive development and several other initiatives taken by the current government headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangabandhu’s daughter brought the ultra-poor beggars, widows, destitute women and landless-homeless people under the coverage of social security programmes, by allocating land and building homes for them, which is a big step towards better distribution of resources. Other backward communities, such as climate victims, small ethnic groups, people of the third gender, migrated people, beggars, Dalits, Harijans etc. have also been brought under the coverage of the scheme.
It is a unique and one of the largest initiatives in the world that aims to include vulnerable and disadvantageous groups in the mainstream by providing with free of cost houses. Ashrayan Project has also rehabilitated leprosy patients, who are considered to be untouchable, at Bandabari Ashrayan Project.
Besides, specially designed houses have been built for the destitute members of small ethnic communities in three hill districts and the ethnic Rakhain community.
Moreover, families affected by the coal mine in Dinajpur’s Parbatipur, the Harijan community, beggars and all other people who have lagged behind are being brought into the mainstream development process. Apart from rehabilitation, the project is also creating employment opportunities for these underprivileged people.
