Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana for VJNTs

What is Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana?

Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana is a 100 percent state-funded rural housing scheme of the Government of Maharashtra for families of the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT). The Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department is the nodal department, and the scheme is delivered on the ground by the Zilla Parishad and the district Assistant Commissioner's office. It is widely known by its Marathi name, Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat (Gharkul) Yojana.

The purpose is stated plainly in the official material: to end the wandering that defines nomadic life, to give these families a permanent address, to raise their standard of living and to build a stable source of income. VJNT households have historically had no land record, no fixed dwelling and, consequently, no practical access to schemes that assume a settled address.

According to the Kolhapur Zilla Parishad scheme page, the current rural phase of the scheme runs from 18 July 2025 to 16 July 2029, and the design has two parts:

• Individual houses for eligible families who already hold a plot.
• Collective colonies for a group of families. The Kolhapur page gives a minimum of 10 families, and the older colony model described in state material provided for a colony of about 20 families in a village, with roughly 5 gunthas of land per family, along with water supply, electricity, a septic tank and access roads.

Every house must have a minimum floor area of 269 square feet, with a kitchen and a toilet.

How much financial assistance does the scheme give?

The scheme is built as a package rather than a single grant:

The Satara Zilla Parishad page records the direct grant of Rs 1,20,000 being deposited into the beneficiary's bank account, with the MGNREGA and toilet components coming through convergence with those programmes rather than from the housing budget. The Kolhapur page describes the MGNREGA contribution as 90 to 95 unskilled man-days of wages, and the Rs 12,000 toilet grant as payable where the household does not already have a toilet.

Because the grant is paid to the beneficiary in instalments linked to construction stages, the family builds the house itself under supervision. This is the single most misunderstood feature of the scheme: it is a construction grant, not a ready-built house handed over at the end.

Who is eligible for Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana?

You can be selected if:

• You belong to the Vimukta Jati or Nomadic Tribes, with a caste certificate issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer. The Satara Zilla Parishad page records the target group as Denotified Tribes and Nomadic Tribes excluding Dhangar.
• Your family is homeless, or lives in a tent, hut or kutcha house.
• Your annual family income does not exceed Rs 1,20,000, on an income certificate from the competent authority.
• You can show at least 15 years of residence in Maharashtra.
• You own the plot for construction, or hold government land allotted for the purpose.
• The Gram Sabha has passed a resolution endorsing your selection.
• Your household lives in a rural area, since this phase of the scheme is the rural component.

You cannot apply, or will not be selected, if:

• Your family has already received a house or housing grant under another government scheme. Duplicate housing benefit makes a family not eligible.
• Your annual family income is above Rs 1,20,000.
• You cannot produce a VJNT caste certificate from the Sub-Divisional Officer; a self-declaration is not eligible as a substitute.
• You already own a pucca house.
• You cannot establish 15 years of residence in Maharashtra.
• You have neither your own land nor an allotment of government land, and are not part of a collective colony proposal that provides the site.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Yashwantrao Chavan Mukta Vasahat Yojana

1. Collect the application form from the Gram Panchayat office, or from the office of the Assistant Commissioner, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare at the district headquarters.
2. Obtain the supporting papers first: the VJNT caste certificate from the Sub-Divisional Officer, an income certificate showing family income within Rs 1,20,000, 15 years residence proof, and the 7/12 extract or land allotment order for the plot.
3. Fill the form and attach self-attested copies of every document along with a declaration that no housing benefit has been taken earlier under any government scheme.
4. Submit the application to the Gram Panchayat, and take an acknowledgement with the inward date.
5. Attend the Gram Sabha at which the beneficiary list is discussed. Selection is made by a Gram Sabha resolution, which is the decisive step. An application that is not carried in the resolution does not move forward.
6. The Gram Panchayat forwards the selected list through the Block Development Officer and the Zilla Parishad to the district Assistant Commissioner for sanction.
7. On sanction, open or confirm a bank account, apply for an MGNREGA job card if you do not have one, and begin construction. The grant is released in instalments as construction stages are verified.

How to check your application status

1. Ask the Gram Sevak or Gram Panchayat for the status of your file and whether your name appears in the Gram Sabha resolution.
2. Check the beneficiary list maintained at the Panchayat Samiti at block level.
3. Contact the Assistant Commissioner, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare, at the district headquarters for sanction-stage queries.
4. Once construction begins, track instalment releases in your bank passbook against the verified construction stages.
5. The Maharashtra government's general schemes helpline 18001208040 can direct you to the right district office.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• Name not carried in the Gram Sabha resolution. More applications fail here than at any document check, and attending the Gram Sabha in person is the only real remedy.
• Caste certificate not from the Sub-Divisional Officer, or naming a group outside the covered VJNT list.
• Income certificate above Rs 1,20,000 a year.
• Earlier housing benefit traced in the household's name in another scheme's records.
• No clear land title, a 7/12 extract in a deceased parent's name without mutation is a frequent obstacle. Complete the mutation before applying.
• Construction not started or not completed after the first instalment, which stops the release of later instalments.
• Residence proof short of 15 years, common for families that migrated recently within the state.

Important dates

The current rural phase of the scheme is recorded on the Kolhapur Zilla Parishad page as running from 18 July 2025 to 16 July 2029. Within that period there is no single last date for applications; the real calendar is set by the Gram Sabha cycle, since selection happens through a Gram Sabha resolution and the district's annual target. A family that misses one Gram Sabha waits for the next.

The scheme itself dates back to a January 2018 government decision for the rural component, and the state announced a budget provision of Rs 600 crore for the scheme in the 2023-24 state budget.

Where to raise a grievance

• Gram Panchayat and Gram Sevak — first stop for selection and list issues.
• Block Development Officer, Panchayat Samiti, for files stuck between the village and the district.
• Assistant Commissioner, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare, at the district headquarters, for sanction and instalment issues.
• Maharashtra schemes helpline: 18001208040.
• Aaple Sarkar grievance portal at grievances.maharashtra.gov.in for a written, trackable complaint.

Applying is free. No fee is payable to any official or agent for inclusion in the beneficiary list, and any demand for money should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner's office in writing.