New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs and MLAs Thursday met Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and complained about the alleged irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Odisha.
The BJP delegation alleged that ineligible beneficiaries have been granted benefits under the rural housing scheme while number of eligible beneficiaries has been excluded.
The BJP leaders also alleged that the state government has hijacked the rural housing scheme. They said that around 60 per cent of the cost was borne by the BJP-ruled Centre but the state government has been taking credit by naming them as Biju Pucca Ghar.
The BJP delegation comprising Suresh Pujari, Basant Panda and other MPs and MLAs urged the Union Minister to conduct an enquiry into the matter. The MPs told the media that the Union Minister had assured them that he will look into the matter.
Meanwhile in Bhubaneswar, party leader Prithiviraj Harichandan also conducted a press conference and tried to pick holes in the claims of the ruling party in the state on the rural housing scheme and the plan of the government to distribute entitlement cards to the beneficiaries of the scheme.
He said that this was an administrative role and the party has decided to take political mileage from the housing scheme. The leader also went ahead and accused the party of using a list of beneficiaries which is not foolproof and includes many who are not eligible for the scheme.
“While the state government has decided to give eligibility cards, the list still has many ineligible candidates who do not fit the criteria of getting the aid from the government,” said Harichandan.
He also lambasted the BJD government for making claiming that the Centre is not releasing funds to the states for such schemes. He said that the Union government had allocated close to Rs 14,796 crore to the state for the scheme in the last three years. He also dared the state government to declare the state funds released under the Biju Pucca Ghar in the last three years.
The BJD on the other hand attacked the BJP for making alleged misleading comments. Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra said, “It is hilarious that the BJP is blaming BJD government in Odisha on rural housing at a time when the Centre has hailed Odisha as the best performing state in rural housing in the country. Either BJP in Odisha is ignorant or they are indulging in cheap politics.”
He also said, “All the information related to performance in rural housing is available on the website of the Centre and the beneficiary list is made as per the SECC data from the Centre. It is funny that BJP in the state does not believe in the data provided by its counterpart in the Centre and is resorting to falsehood.”