The Motnath Residency Housing Cooperative Housing Society Limited in Gujarat’s Harni district have been protesting against the allotment of a government flat to a Muslim woman. The woman, a government employee is facing discrimination as residents claim the housing complex is Hindu-dominated.
The society built under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana scheme for low-income groups has 461 houses. The residents have been living in the society for six to seven years. The residents who are predominantly Hindu claim the allocation of the house to the Muslim family is a violation of the “Disturbance Act” being in effect in the area.
Pertinently, the Gujarat government has introduced the “Disturbed Areas Act” in the state that mandates property deals must be approved by the district collector in areas marked as ‘disturbed’, perceived as a tool to segregate Hindus and Muslims.
The agitation began when the residents received information from society’s management about the allocation of the house to the Muslim family under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana.
Shortly after Hindu residents gathered in front of the society and started protesting claiming that the society was a Hindu-dominated area and that the presence of a Muslim family would disturb the “peace and harmony” of the community.
According to the reports, the residents have been protesting for several days, with some even raising religious slogans. The local authorities have been trying to resolve the issue, but the residents are adamant that the house should not be given to the Muslim family.
According to The Indian Express report, the Muslim lady working in the ministry of entrepreneurship and skill development was allotted a house in the city’s Harni district under Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) low-income housing complex as part of the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana in 2017.
However, before the woman could move in, with her minor son, 33 residents wrote to the district collector and other officials, urging that the woman’s assigned apartment in the 462-unit complex be revoked and that she be moved to a different housing scheme.
The woman also told The Indian Express that she was recently contacted about maintenance dues, which she agreed to pay if they provided her share certificate. She further said that she had already paid a one-time maintenance charge of 50,000 rupees to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation.
“I do not wish to sell off my hard-earned property just because of this opposition. I will wait,” the woman said.
Meanwhile, the authorities are yet to comment on the issue.
The Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (The Chief Minister Housing Scheme) is a government scheme launched on June 25, 2015, that aims to provide affordable housing to low-income families. The allocation of houses is based on a lottery system. However, the residents of the society claim that the allocation of the house to the Muslim family was a “deliberate attempt” to disrupt the community.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Sayima Ahmad | 
