I, Sri Madan Pradhan (50), am a resident of village Gujapanga in Kandhamal, where I live with my family of six members including my school going fourchildren. Being a daily wage labourer, some days I go without work, making it even more difficult to run my family. Falling under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, I had never availed any public benefits owing to lack of information about the schemes and entitlements.
One day, I accompanied some villagers to the legal aid training organized by Justice, Peace Development and Communication, in my village, though only with half the interest. The advocates shared about various Government schemes for BPL families, such as the Indira AwasYojana (centrally sponsored housing scheme), Madhubabu pension scheme, Widow Pension scheme, Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Mo Kudia scheme etc. Upon learning about the Mo Kudia housing scheme of the Government of Odisha for BPL families, in the joint name of spouse, I sought legal guidance from the lawyer after the training programme concluded. After listening to my case and finding me eligible for the scheme, I was assured pro-bono assistance by the lawyer. I was assisted in submitting my application to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Raikia. I was promised support from the administration and eventually, Rs. 75,000 (Seventy Five thousand) was sanctioned to me under the scheme.
Had it not been for the legal aid training I doubt if I’d ever been able to claim the entitlement. Moreover, the training and real time handholding instilled hope and confidence in me. At present, my family is happy to live in their new house.