Malkangiri: Even as the state and Central governments offer affordable housing to poor, landless and BPL families through several schemes, the beneficiaries are often found to be exploited.
Several tribal Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) beneficiaries of this district are reportedly in distress as contractors manage to draw the grants from their bank accounts promising to construct their houses. However, their houses are left in a half-built condition for years.
For instance, Keni Darua, a woman of Gurumguda village of Tandiki panchayat under Korukonda block, got an IAY work order about two years back. The authorities credited Rs 75,000 to her bank account. On being asked by panchayat executive Ashok Sarkar, she withdrew Rs 70,000 in three phases and handed it over to a contactor named Jura to speed up the construction. However, her house is yet to be completed. Moreover, she had to arrange for large logs from the market paying a steep price as told by the contractor, apparently for fixing asbestos sheets on the walls.
When contacted, the contractor Jura said Keni and her husband asked him not to proceed with the roof-laying so that the walls are exposed to rain for better curing. He would place the sheets in two days and return the price of the logs to the beneficiary, he added.
Similarly, Sama Darua of the same village had got a work order for an IAY house four years back and the budget was Rs 45,000 at that time. The beneficiary has handed over 50 per cent of the grant to a contactor named Mana to get the house completed. However, the construction of the house has not gone beyond a wall of two feet height, Sama said.
In another case, a contractor has managed to draw the money from the bank account of Madhav Darua, one more IAY beneficiary of the village. The contractor didn’t proceed further after laying the foundation of the house, Madhav’s family alleged.
It is alleged that some dishonest officials, taking advantage of the simplicity of the tribals, rope in some unscrupulous contractors to construct their houses leaving them exploited by the latter. Several beneficiaries under Tandiki panchayat have become victims of such contractor-official unholy nexus, it was learnt.
When contacted, Korukonda BDO Dasarathi Sarabu said he has not received the complaints. However, he promised to conduct a probe into these incidents. PNN
