Centre Flags Housing Scheme Scam In Odisha, Seeks Action Against Erring Officials

Bhubaneswar: The Centre has flagged several irregularities, including diversion of funds to ineligible beneficiaries, in the implementation of a housing scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in Odisha.

The Union Rural Development Ministry has also asked the Odisha government to recover the misappropriated funds and take action against the erring officials at the earliest.

This was stated in a letter from Union Rural Development Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha to Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra.

Though the letter was written on April 22, it only came to light after BJP MP from Sundargarh Jual Oram shared it with the media on Friday.

According to the letter, a Central inquiry team had detected the PMAY-G scam in Odisha.

In its report, the team had pointed out several cases of irregularities such as the absence of PMAY-G logo on houses and poor quality of construction.

It also cited how both a father and son were sanctioned houses and full funds were provided to beneficiaries who have not taken up any work.

The ministry has asked the Odisha government to lodge FIR against the officials involved in the scam and sought action against the BDO and other supervisors who had cleared the works. The ministry also directed the state authorities to publicise the action taken against the officials on social media.

Oram alleged that the ruling BJD was doing politics by putting Biju Patnaik logos on PMAY-G houses and accused the state government of shielding unscrupulous officials.