Jajpur: Serious irregularities have been alleged in the construction of a transit house for urban slum dwellers under Centre-sponsored Rajiv Awas Yojana by Jajpur municipality, a report said Wednesday.
Moreover, the transit house built to rehabilitate the slum dwellers at a cost of Rs 4.14 crore has turned into a market complex. As a result, over 104 families of slum dwellers have failed to get pucca houses. The matter came to light after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), during a probe, indicted the civic authorities for the irregularities in its report.
The report claims irregularities have been committed in the scheme and in the selection of beneficiaries. Duty officer, Bijaylakshmi Jena of the state housing and urban development department, taking cognizance of the report has asked the executive officer of the civic body to file his reply on the charges.
The Union government with an aim to free the urban areas of slums by 2012 and make the slum dwellers fall with the urban lifestyle launched the Rajiv Awas Yojana in 2011. The scheme was later renamed as ‘Housing for All’ in May 2015.
The scheme, implemented by the housing and urban development department, approved construction of 1,597 houses for slum dwellers under the Jajpur civic body and sanctioned Rs 31.31 crore for the purpose.
However, only 558 houses were completed, 181 houses are still under-construction while work on 858 houses is yet to begin. The CAG report has claimed the civic body authorities have spent Rs 23.09 crore out of the sanctioned funds.
The CAG, during the probe from April to May, 2017, found that 48 constructed houses were not meant for the slum dwellers but have been taken over by some influential political persons. Even a beneficiary has managed to get two houses with serial numbers 14 and 39 at Naarpada in the town violating norms. The report also claims that over Rs 39 crore have been spent in construction of 73 houses without conducting any survey.
The scheme was implemented in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur and Jajpur whereas it failed to make any headway in Sambalpur, Rourkela and Puri.
The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) also proposed to construct a transit house to rehabilitate 104 poor urban slum dwellers and sanctioned Rs 2.05 crore in March 2013.
The transit house was constructed at a cost of Rs 4.14 crore which includes the sanctioned fund and interest. However, instead of rehabilitating the slum dwellers, the civic authorities turned it into a market complex by rehabilitating some rich people on its ground floor.
The report claims that the total money has been spent on inadmissible purpose, depriving the slum dwellers of housing units. The civic body authorities had announced to return the total Rs 4.14 core to the Rajiv Awas fund after the CAG report indicted them for the irregularities. However, they are yet to live up to their promise.
The report has alleged that the civic body authorities in connivance with some influential political persons have spent the money on other works.
Siba Prasad Mohaptra, executive officer of Jajpur municipality, refused to comment stating he will only speak after going through the papers.
PNN