Kendrapara: The Centre-sponsored Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) has become a mess in this district with many genuine beneficiaries being denied its benefits, a report said.
A case in point is Bhandilo village in Basapur GP of Derabish block where even retired government employees have managed to get housing units under IAY while some have got more than house. The housing benefits, however, elude several real beneficiaries.
According to sources, a Dalit BPL card holder, Gurucharan Jena, a resident of Bhandilo, got a house under IAY and Rs 10,000 was credited to his bank account.
He started building the house by adding his savings. But he failed to get the arrears under the scheme. Later, Jena approached then sarpanch, Ajay Kumar Das for help. Das took his IAY work order but did not return it to him.
A dejected Jena then took up the matter with the BDO’s office but to his surprise, his IAY documents were missing there. Refusing to give him the arrears, the block authorities told him that as he was not having IAY documents, he should apply for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
When he applied for PMAY, it came to his notice that in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC), it was mentioned that he had a pucca house.
“I constructed a pucca house up to lintel level and due to shortage of funds I went for a thatched roof. My IAY arrears were not allotted by block authorities as my IAY documents were missing. The faulty SECC report ruined my chances of getting PMAY funds,” Jena lamented.
Another Dalit, Kangali Jena, claimed that three years back a man named Bangali Jena applied for IAY benefits. Instead of Bangali, he got an IAY work order on lottery due to an error in spelling. Though he got the work order, he did not construct the house. He is in the priority list for getting a pucca house.
In some cases people who got benefits under IAY in 2008, got pucca houses again. A man and his two sons, who were part of a joint family, managed to secure three IAY houses with the help of some officials by declaring that they were staying separately.
The villagers demanded a probe into these irregularities and alleged the SECC list is faulty as officials engaged for preparing it did not conduct a proper door-to-door survey.
In the absence of IAY benefits, three Dalit families have been residing in shanties at a farmland. They are deprived of basic amenities and remain marooned during the rainy season.
Saroj Kumar Dash, BDO of Derabish, said houses were provided after inquiry. Asked about Gurucharan Jena, the BDO said he would conduct an inquiry into the matter. Apart from this steps would be taken to provide all amenities to the three Dalit families, he added. PNN
