A PROPOSAL to change the eligibility criteria of homeowners in the Muharraq Governorate seeking rainproofing and fire protection has been approved.
Aimed at significantly increasing the number of people who can benefit from the scheme, the Muharraq Municipal Council has raised the wage cap to BD800 per month, from BD600 per month.
The proposal, suggested by MP Abdulla Al Dossary in May 2019, initially sought to raise the maximum income of those eligible to BD1,000 a month.
However, it was agreed to raise the cap to BD800 which will still cover a large number of families.
Heavy rains is an issue for many houses all over Bahrain
Councillor Ahmed Al Mugahwi told the GDN that currently there were at least 100 families requesting rainproofing and fire protection aid.
“The proposal will right away benefit families that need rainproofing,” he said.
“Thankfully, the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry manages to meet the rainproofing requests within 15 to 21 days.
“The cap will now be increased from BD600 to BD800 for rainproofing and cases of fire.
“However, for fires the renovation and aid still cannot exceed BD600 and last year we had renovated 200 homes in Muharraq.
“We have almost 100 requests for aid for homes that went over the BD600 wage limit and that’s why we set aside the requests as special cases.
Mr Al Mugahwi
“Because of that number we pushed for that proposal so we can help as many people as we can and we can start doing that from today,” said Mr Al Mugahwi.
He said people who wanted the aid should visit their municipalities office and fill out a form to apply for the service being provided by the ministry.
The GDN reported in December that the Capital Trustees Board had approved a proposal by the ministry to change the eligibility criteria to a maximum income limit of BD800 from BD600 to allow more help to families whose homes flood during the rainy season.
However, the implementation of the plan depends on the approval of the three municipal councils – Northern, Southern and Muharraq – before the year end.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))