Bhubaneswar: Even though the state government is pulling out all the stops to ensure pucca houses for rural poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) by 2019, the Centre not providing its share has stood as a stumbling block for the ambitious scheme.
According to sources, the Centre had set a target for the state to construct 2.56 lakh houses under PMAY-G in 2018-19 fiscal. However, the Union government is yet to allocate a single rupee to the state government for the purpose, said sources at Panchayati Raj department.
As per the existing guidelines, the Centre would bear 60 per cent project cost under the PMAY-G while the state would contribute the balance 40 per cent. Accordingly, the Centre was supposed to sanction Rs 972 crore to the state under the housing scheme by April this year. It is learnt that the Central government had sanctioned the first tranche of funds under the scheme to many other states at least five months ago. However, it has been neglecting Odisha deliberately. The state government has raised the issue with Ministry of Rural Development several times, but to no avail, sources added.
“The state government has provided its share of money for construction of houses under the PMAY-G. But, it is now facing problems to sanction the remaining installments to the beneficiaries in the absence of fund allocation from the Centre. Construction of houses under the scheme would come to a grinding halt if the Centre does not release its share by August-end,” said an official of the Panchayati Raj department.
It is worth mentioning that the Centre had sanctioned Rs 1,292 crore to the state as second installment for PMAY-G houses for 2017-18 fiscal in August last year. The state had distributed Rs 1, 032 crore from the amount among the beneficiaries in March 2018.
However, the Centre had expressed doubt over the fund disbursal and asked the state government to submit a detailed report with evidence in this regard. “The state government had submitted a 3,000-page report along with all evidences of the fund disbursal to the Centre. However, the Union government is yet to grant money under the PMAY-G scheme for the current fiscal,” the official added.
Notably, the BJD government had assured the rural poor of pucca houses by 2019 as part of its poll promise in 2014.