Kendrapara: The residents of Madhurkula village in Ayeba panchayat of Kendrapara block are unable to get government benefits due to apathy of the block administration.
The village has about 60 families with a population of 450 and most of them are Dalits. Though 50 out of 60 families are residing in ramshackle thatched houses, not a single person has got an opportunity to get a pucca house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), alleged locals.
The reason for it is, the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC)-2011 of the villagers was not enlisted in the database. As per the guidelines, the houseless poor families and those living in less than two kutcha rooms as per SECC-2011 are eligible for housing benefits under PMAY.
An auto-generated priority list is prepared from amongst households enlisted in the kutcha household category of SECC-2011 based on the deprivation score. The list is physically verified by field functionaries and scrutinised by Gram Sabha. Beneficiaries are selected out of the said priority list as per the approved target of the panchayat, said Gagan Sahu, sarpanch of Ayeba.
In 2011, the block administration had carried out SECC Survey at Madhurkula village. But later when the poor families applied for getting PMAY, they came to know that their SECC was not enlisted in the database. As a result, they have been deprived of PMAY benefits. However, their names could have been included later but due to the indifferent attitude of the block administration that has not been done, alleged Akshay Kumar Das, councillor of Ward No-14.
Due to the fault of officials concerned, who were entrusted with SECC Survey work at Madhurkula, poor Dalit villagers have been deprived of housing benefits, alleged Mamata Mallick, a Dalit woman.
Apart from the housing scheme, several Dalit families have also been deprived of toilets under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. The villagers have applied for them several times, but could not get them as their village SECC list was not in the block administration’s official database, alleged Laxman Mallick, a villager.
Worse is the plight of widows. At least 10 women have been awaiting widow pensions, though their husbands had died more than five years ago.
And, about 25 per cent of villagers who are eligible for rations are yet to be enrolled under NFSA to get subsidised food grains, alleged Manjulata Mallick, a villager, who has applied several times to get a ration card.
“To enrol our village in the SECC list, we have knocked at the doors of the block administration as well as the district administration several times, but in vain,” some villagers said.
BDO Kishore Chandra Swain said the block administration has prepared a waiting list for widow pension. Soon widow pensions are going to be disbursed, he added.
As far as the ration card issue is concerned, Kendrapara block has surpassed the beneficiary target. So the administration has started deleting the beneficiaries who were not eligible for NFSA ration cards but managed to avail the benefits, Swain said.
Later, the left out genuine beneficiaries are going to be added to the NFSA ration card list, he added.
Regarding SECC list of Madhurkula, Swain said, some of its residents were not covered in the block administration’s data list due to some technical glitches. During the draft publication, the villagers had failed to bring the issue before the administration, he claimed.
The BDO said he would bring the matter to the notice of the collector. If the data is available in any of the computer systems of the office, then the administration would be able to publish the SECC data of the villagers. Else, the administration would not be able to enlist the left out villagers in SECC list, the officer added. PNN
