Puri: Altogether 295 beneficiaries in the Pilgrim City have been granted concrete houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) in the first phase while 276 houses have been allotted in the second phase. However, 96 beneficiaries of PMAY-U are yet to start the construction work for the projects.
This was revealed at a review meeting chaired by Odisha Urban Housing Mission (OUHM) director Suresh Chandra Dalai and attended by the joint secretary, Sushant Kumar Mahapatra, here Friday.
The authorities concerned have provided work orders to 556 beneficiaries in the two phases, the meeting revealed.
As proceedings at the review meeting, construction work for 285 houses has been completed while the same for 40 houses has reached the last phase.
Likewise, construction work for 28 houses is in preliminary stage and the work for 162 houses has reached half-way mark. However, as many as 96 beneficiaries of PMAY-U are yet to start the construction work for the projects.
The meeting revealed that some of the beneficiaries were unable to build pucca houses under the scheme due to fund crunch. Taking the issue seriously, the OUHM director has directed the officials to facilitate bank loans to these beneficiaries.
This apart, it was decided to cancel the work orders of beneficiaries facing problems to start the construction due to land disputes. “We would ask the beneficiaries to surrender their work orders to the municipal authorities,” said a district administration official.
Meanwhile, a private agency, engaged by the OUHM authorities, has identified 14,612 households sans concrete houses in the city. The district administration would open a designated centre at Penthakata to accept grievances with regard to the survey by the private agency, said the official.
“The district Collector would review implementation of PMAY-U in four urban areas of the district November 20,” the official added.