PANJIM/MARGAO: The Congress on Friday urged Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to reconsider his decision to stop the Housing Building Advance (HBA) Scheme, initiated in 1988 for the government servants.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has said that welfare measure for the employees have been continued since Goa State Reorganisation Act of 1987 came into force and no government has ever tinkered with the scheme negatively leave alone withdraw it.
He said that government decision to stop the scheme of granting HBA to the employees and further instructions to transfer the loan availed under the scheme to a banking institutions, has come as a rude shock to the scores of employees, who have had a dream to have an affordable dwelling unit of their very own.
“I therefore, on behalf of my party and all the 5,000 odd employees who have availed the benefit and tens of thousands who would be keen to avail such scheme, would appeal to the Chief Minister that better sense prevail and the decision is reverted at the earliest,” he demanded.
Kamat said, “I find the decision of the government to be highly unreasonable, based on incorrect assumption, without any thought of welfare for its employees and most regressive for the State and its people.”
“The real estate market is highly volatile with rising occupancy prices and it is nearly impossible for an employee to avail reasonable space within the Rs 36 lakh maximum value of HBA eligibility. Many employees have tried to maximise the HBA within the eligibility limit and have also availed private or institutional loans to top up the amount to procure a living space which they can call their own. Some who have family property or small land holdings have sought to build small housing units through HBA,” Digambar added.
“Now, suddenly stopping the scheme and directing the employees to transfer their loans to a bank, has added up almost double the monthly installment for repayment of the new EMI, leaving nothing in hand,” former Chief Minister said.
Stating that the decision is not at all in the interest of the State, Kamat said that the assumption that the treasury will receive Rs 300 crore as liquidation of the State guarantee is also a misnomer.
“By denying such a benefit to its employees and putting more fiscal hardship on the existing loanees, is grossly anti-Goan as it goes against the fabric of Goan society to pull the rug from below of their fellow citizens and to bring about disruption in the process of someone who is building a home for themselves,” Kamat said.
Kamat charged that by deliberately putting the employees to risk, the government is also destroying the aspirations of the family unit, depriving them of the basic necessities and squeezing them dry of their monthly savings, which mostly end up being utilised for medical, educational and spiritual needs otherwise.
