Chandahandi: In a curious case of role reversal, several officials of Chandahandi block in Nabarangpur district were seen staging sit-ins in front of houses of general public in the block Monday. While people demonstrating before government offices is nothing new, officials demonstrating before the houses of the public could be seen turning many heads.
According to several sources, some panchayat extension officers (PEOs) led by the block development officer (BDO) of Chandahandi Monday staged sit-ins at the houses of several Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) beneficiaries of Chakamal and Anakarabeda villages in Chandahandi block as many of the beneficiaries have not started construction of their houses even after receiving work orders and first instalments of monetary assistance from the government.
The local administration has released the work orders of 2,305 beneficiaries under PMAY after the government set a 2022 deadline to get all the ‘kucha’ houses converted into ‘pucca’ ones.
However, most of the beneficiaries are yet to begin construction work of their houses even after receiving the first instalment of Rs 20,000 credited to their accounts.
This led to panchayat extension officers (PEOs) such as Suryanarayyan Bhatra, Lachhman Nial, Santosh Mishra and gram rojgar sevakas (GRSs) Denath Banjara and Shrremanchal Behera staging sit-ins at the houses of such beneficiaries in Chakamal and Anakarabeda villages.
They staged the sit-ins under the guidance of Chandahandi block development officer Debendra Kumar Bal, it was learnt.
PNN