Chief Minister's Housing Assistance Programme (CMHAP)

What is the Chief Minister's Housing Assistance Programme?

Chief Minister's Housing Assistance Programme (CMHAP) is a housing scheme of the Housing Department, Government of Meghalaya, implemented through the Directorate of Housing at Shillong. The Department issued the CMHAP guidelines in 2017, and the scheme replaced the older Rural Housing Scheme (RHS) that had run since 1981-82.

According to the Housing Department's schemes page, the Rural Housing Scheme gave three bundles of CGI sheets as grant-in-aid and reached about 71,632 beneficiaries, but was discontinued because many recipients did not have the resources to complete a house even after receiving the roofing. CMHAP was designed around that failure: it keeps the roofing grant for the poorest households, and adds a credit-linked subsidy so that a slightly better-off household can actually finish a dwelling.

The guidelines state the objective in two parts; to provide durable roofing materials to improve existing houses of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) families, and to provide dwelling houses to Low Income Group (LIG) families living in the State. The Meghalaya Government portal records a proposed allocation of Rs 20.00 crore for the scheme's first year, 2016-17.

Key facts

• EWS component: 3 bundles of roofing sheets, each 9 feet long, as an outright grant.
• LIG component: a durable house with a carpet area of at least 19.20 sq m (207 sq ft) and a minimum of 2 rooms, with a compulsory toilet.
• Financial assistance: limited to a maximum of Rs 75,000.
• House cost: taken as Rs 2.30 lakh at the 2015-16 schedule of rates.
• Financing ratio: Rs 75,000 assistance : Rs 23,000 beneficiary contribution : Rs 1,32,000 bank loan or convergence with other schemes.
• Coverage: rural and urban areas of the State; district allocations follow the State Budget allocation for the year.

Who is eligible for CMHAP?

You can be selected if:

• You are a bonafide resident of the State of Meghalaya.
• You are 18 years of age or above.
• Your household is EWS; annual income up to Rs 1,00,000, which qualifies you for roofing materials; or LIG: annual income between Rs 1,00,001 and Rs 2,00,000, which qualifies you for the credit-linked subsidy house. The guidelines note that these ceilings are subject to revision by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
• Your household income is duly certified by the appropriate authority, which the guidelines define as the Deputy Commissioner, the Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) or the Block Development Officer.
• You own land at the location where the house is to be constructed. Projects may also be taken up on community land.
• You can produce an EPIC or other residence proof, and your name appears on the latest electoral roll, which the guidelines make the basis for identification.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• Your family already owns a pucca house; defined in the guidelines as an all-weather dwelling unit — anywhere in the State, in your name or in the name of any family member.
• For the credit-linked subsidy, you, your spouse or any dependent member including unmarried children own a house anywhere in Meghalaya. A declaration to the contrary has to be furnished.
• You have already received a loan or advance from any State Government, housing co-operative or other financing institution in connection with the construction of a house, in your own name or your spouse's, in the case of the credit-linked subsidy.
• Another person from the same family lives under the same roof as a beneficiary under this scheme. The guidelines bar a second beneficiary from the same household.
• Your annual household income exceeds Rs 2,00,000, which puts you above the LIG ceiling.
• You do not own or have access to land for the house site.

The guidelines add that preference may be given to physically handicapped persons, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, senior citizens, other backward classes, minorities, single mothers and women, and other weaker and vulnerable sections, and that title should as far as possible be given in the name of the woman.

What documents are required for CMHAP?

For the credit-linked subsidy, the guidelines also record that the income proof of the selected beneficiary lies at the discretion of the bank, since a bank loan forms the largest single share of the financing.

How to apply for the Chief Minister's Housing Assistance Programme

1. Ask your Block Development Officer (rural areas) or your District Housing Officer or Inspector of Housing (urban areas) for the prescribed printed application form. The guidelines are explicit that applications are accepted only on these printed forms, supplied by the Directorate of Housing according to the requirement of each Block and District.
2. Fill in the form and attach the income certificate, EPIC or residence proof, land documents for the house site and, for the credit-linked subsidy, the declaration that no house is owned by you or your dependants anywhere in Meghalaya.
3. Submit the completed application to the same officer. The BDO in rural areas, or the District Housing Officer / Inspector of Housing in urban areas, within the time frame fixed by the Government for that year.
4. The receiving officer prepares a list of beneficiaries and places it before the Block Level Housing Selection and Monitoring Committee (BLHSMC) or the Urban Level Housing Selection and Monitoring Committee (ULHSMC) for screening and approval.
5. The approved list goes to the Deputy Commissioner (Housing), who chairs the District Housing Committee, for final approval, and the approved list is then forwarded to the Director of Housing.
6. Selected beneficiaries are called to a sensitisation meeting convened by the BLHSMC or ULHSMC, where the programme, the assistance and the conditions are explained. Persons with disabilities and old or infirm persons are to be specially assisted at this stage.
7. For the roofing component, collect the roofing materials from the Block or District headquarters. For the credit-linked subsidy, a sanction order is issued in the format prescribed by the financial partner, and the subsidy is released in instalments into your bank or post office account against certified progress of work.

How is the CMHAP house financed and built?

The guidelines cost the house at Rs 2.30 lakh as per the schedule of rates of the MPWD building wing for 2015-16, and set out a three-way financing ratio:

• Rs 75,000: financial assistance under CMHAP, the maximum the scheme pays.
• Rs 23,000: beneficiary's own contribution.
• Rs 1,32,000, bank loan, the beneficiary's own resources, or funds drawn from other programmes such as the Special Rural Works Programme (SRWP) or in convergence with MGNREGS.

Where the beneficiary is willing to contribute the balance, an undertaking has to be given in writing in the format provided in the application form, committing to complete the house.

Construction conditions matter as much as the money:

• The house must be built by the beneficiary personally. No contractor may be involved, and where construction through contractors comes to notice the Department has the right to recover the amount. The house is also not to be constructed by any Government department or agency, though departments may give technical assistance or coordinate the supply of cement, steel, bricks or prefabricated components if the beneficiary wants that help.
• The house must be durable, suited to the geo-climatic conditions of Meghalaya, safe, and with a compulsory toilet.
• The beneficiary must build to the model plan at Annexure-A; departing from the design needs prior approval of the competent authority.
• Geo-tagging of the site is compulsory.
• On completion, the beneficiary must not sublet or sell the house.

Who decides CMHAP selections?

Three bodies are named in the guidelines:

• The Block Level Housing Selection and Monitoring Committee (BLHSMC) in each Community and Rural Development Block, with a non-official Chairperson nominated by Government, the Block Development Officer as Member Secretary, five nominated members of whom at least two should be traditional heads and one a woman representative, and the Block's Assistant Engineer or Junior Engineer.
• The Urban Level Housing Selection and Monitoring Committee (ULHSMC) in each urban area, with a non-official Chairperson, the District Housing Officer or Inspector of Housing as Member Secretary, the Chief Executive Officer or Executive Officer of the municipal office, five nominated members of whom at least two should be women representatives, and the municipal Assistant or Junior Engineer.
• The District Housing Committee (DHC), chaired by the Deputy Commissioner of the district, with the District Housing Officer or Inspector of Housing as Member Secretary, the District Planning Officer, all BDOs or municipal CEOs of the district, and the district Junior Engineer (Housing).

Non-official members of the BLHSMC and ULHSMC serve a term of at least 3 years. Meeting notices are issued 2 weeks in advance. Targets are fixed Block-wise by the Director of Housing on the basis of the year's budget allotment, and up to 0.5 per cent of funds released may be used for administering the scheme.

What if my name is left out or the particulars are wrong?

• Where a selected beneficiary has to be replaced for justifiable reasons, at Block or Urban level, proposals go to the District Housing Committee for approval.
• Where there is a dispute or complaint about the particulars of selected beneficiaries, the District Housing Officer or Inspector of Housing causes an enquiry, and the concerned committee waits for that report before deciding.
• The practical first stop is therefore your BDO (rural) or District Housing Officer (urban), and the escalation is the Deputy Commissioner as Chairman of the District Housing Committee.

Help and contacts

• Office of the Director of Housing, Shillong 793001, Meghalaya.
• Phone: 0364 2501114.
• Email: dir(dot)housing-meg(at)gov(dot)in.
• Rural applications: Block Development Officer of your C&RD Block.
• Urban applications: District Housing Officer or Inspector of Housing.
• Appeals and disputes: Deputy Commissioner (Housing), as Chairman of the District Housing Committee.
• RTI: the Housing Department publishes its RTI handbook and the list of Public Information Officers of the Directorate on meghousing.gov.in.

Applications are free and are accepted only on the printed departmental form. No agent can charge a household for inclusion in a Block or Urban selection list.