Govt to construct permanent rehabilitation clusters for Chitmahal dwellers

After the land comes the houses. In a novel effort to rehabilitate Chitmahal dwellers, the state government has taken measures to construct permanent clusters.

In a bid to give permanent shelters to those who became Indian citizens with 51 enclaves coming within the country's jurisdiction in July 2015, the step has been taken to reconstruct their lives and residential clusters for them.

According to sources in Nabanna, initially, such clusters will come up in three places in Cooch Behar. Around 230 families will be given shelter in them.

An official said the process of identifying and getting land at Haldibari, Mekhliganj and Dinhata in Cooch Behar where the clusters will come up is over. The plan to develop the infrastructure has also been finalised. According to that, there will be two-storeyed buildings in each of which there will be flats for eight families. Each of the flats will measure around 70 square metre carpet area. There will be flats for four families in each floor of the two-storeyed buildings.

Around 104 families will be rehabilitated in the cluster that will come up at Haldibari. In the clusters at Mekhliganj and Dinhata, as many as 56 and 80 families will be rehabilitated respectively.

The cluster at Haldibari and Mekhliganj will come up at a cost of Rs 39 crore and Rs 19 crore respectively. The cost of developing the permanent rehabilitation cluster at Dinhata will be around Rs 32 crore. The expense for developing the same in Dinhata is more compared to that of the number of units that will be developed in it.

The reason — the land is situated in such a location that there is a need to spend more to create necessary infrastructure for the road connectivity.

Interestingly, there will also be cowsheds in the clusters. The decision to construct cowsheds in the clusters has been taken as most people, who have become Indian citizens with the exchange of enclaves, domesticate cows. Those, who will be rehabilitated to the permanent clusters, had been staying in temporary shelters which were set up soon after the exchange of enclaves at Haldibari and Dinhata. The work to constrict the clusters would begin soon, the official added.