The Scheduled Caste Development Department (SCDO) of Kerala initiated a web-based e-Housing project to improve transparency in the process of providing housing assistance to the scheduled caste beneficiaries.

 

Scheduled caste groups faced several constraints in applying for housing allowance from the government. Apart from the regular delays in receiving disbursements, the complicated procedures combined with no option to track applications make the process cumbersome. The beneficiaries had to skip several days of work and physically visit the department to request for funds at different stages of construction; wasting time and effort. Moreover, there was no transparency as to how much amount was being disbursed in their account.

In order to overcome these challenges, government introduced a web based solution to specifically target the beneficiaries. E-housing project, launched in February 2011 by SCDO in Kerala with Centre for Development of Imaging Technology,ensures time-bound, efficient, transparent and error-free housing applications. SCDO allots a total of Rs 1 lakh to each beneficiary at particular construction stages and is disbursed in four instalments: first 15,000, second 30,000, third 40,000 and last, 15,000.

Since the execution of the project, a total of 1423 houses have been built, 2000 beneficiaries have opened postal savings bank and an amount of Rs 5 crores has been disbursed through the system.

This case study was published in September 2011.

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