Bhubaneswar: The state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday once again slammed the state government over gross irregularities in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra and leader Sarada Pradhan jointly held a press conference here and alleged that there are widespread irregularities in identification of beneficiaries under the rural housing scheme – PMAY.
Mohapatra alleged that about 10 lakh out of the total 12.75 lakh PMAY beneficiaries in state are ineligible.
Alleging 85 per cent of the total beneficiaries of the rural housing scheme are bogus, Pradhan said 226 people have been identified as eligible to get houses under PMAY in Jamara panchayat under Nischintakoili block of Cuttack district even though 166 did not meet the criteria to get benefit of the scheme.
“There are 142 bogus beneficiaries under PMAY in Jamara panchayat alone. Multiple members of the same family have been granted houses under the scheme. Moreover, people who already own houses in cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have also been selected under the PMAY,” he claimed showing pictures of a few ineligible beneficiaries.
BJP also went on to allege that the number of pucca houses distributed in Daudapur under Nischintakoili block of Cuttack district exceeds the actual number of residents. Surprisingly, more houses have been promised to the residents.
Replying to the allegations of BJP, Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena said, “Only allegations won’t work. BJP should produce proof, if they have any. I have made it clear before that strict action will be taken against officials involved in any kind of corruption practices.”