Cheques totalling Rs 11 million were remitted to 170 families under the Roof Slab Grant Scheme during a ceremony held yesterday at the Sir Harilal Vaghjee Memorial Hall in Port Louis in presence of the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Lands, Showkutally Soodhun.
In his address, Soodhun congratulated the beneficiaries for their efforts to better the life of their families. “Government recognises your perseverance, and will continue to support the hard work of those who endeavour to improve their quality of life,” he stated, adding that since his taking office, over Rs 226 million has been disbursed to 3,709 families under the Roof Slab Grant Scheme.
The Vice-Prime Minister also reiterated Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of those at the lowest strata of the society, especially with regard to housing. He recalled the vision of his Ministry to provide for low income earners integrated housing estates with access to transport networks, job’s opportunities, schools, health and other services.
Roof Slab Grant Scheme
The Roof Slab Grant Scheme enables households owning a plot of land and earning less than Rs 10 000 monthly to obtain a maximum one-off cash grant of Rs 75 000 to complete the construction of their houses. As for families earning between Rs 10 001 and Rs 15 000 monthly, they are eligible to a maximum one-off cash grant of Rs 40 000.
For financial year 2016/2017, some 1 182 families earning up to Rs 15 000 have benefitted from the Scheme, at the cost of Rs 72 million. Furthermore, Budget 2017/2018 has earmarked funds to the tune of Rs 100 million for the Scheme.
