Odisha ST families in Tirtol face repeated flooding in PMAY houses

Many Scheduled Tribe (ST) families in Tirtol block are living in makeshift polythene huts despite getting pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The families said their locality has been flooded four times this year.

About 50 ST families have lived on government land at Mundasahi under Tirtol panchayat for 50 to 60 years. The administration gave land pattas measuring one decimal each to 16 families for building houses. Later, the beneficiaries got work orders under PMAY in 2022-23 and built houses at Gopiakuda in the same block.

But the houses have not provided the intended shelter as they are in a low-lying area. Whenever the Mahanadi river is in spate, floodwater enters the locality and reportedly rises to four to five feet inside and around the houses.

The beneficiaries said this forces them to move out and live in the makeshift huts. Beneficiaries Sandh Singh, Champa Sama and Bijay Tudu claimed that the government spent lakhs of rupees to give them permanent houses, but they have been unable to occupy them safely for nearly four years due to recurring floods. The families said they had expected the PMAY houses to provide security and dignity, but the selection of flood-prone land defeated the purpose.

Locals blamed the recurring waterlogging on poor planning and the absence of basic protective infrastructure around the housing site.

Tirtol panchayat sarpanch Priyambada Mohapatra said elected representatives had proposed building a ring embankment, filling the low-lying areas, digging a pond, and constructing a flood shelter when the land documents were handed over to the ST families.

"None of these proposals has been implemented. Apart from electricity, a tube well, and a road, no major development has taken place," she said.

A similar situation exists among ST families at Adibasipada under Tarajanga panchayat in Tirtol block. Of the 72 ST families living there, six have received land documents and five have received housing support. Four families got houses under the former Indira Awas Yojana, while one received a PMAY house. Their houses are also waterlogged whenever the Mahanadi is in spate.

A senior revenue officer of Tirtol tehsil said the site was chosen by the then tehsildar. "Shortage of government land forced the administration to select the site after taking the consent of the ST families. However, no protective measures have been developed to stop floodwater from entering the area," he said.

The affected families have urged the district administration to take steps to provide them with safe and habitable shelter. Tirtol BDO Girija Shankar Mallick did not respond to calls for comment.