Odisha Among Laggard States, May Invite Penalty For Delay In Centre’s Rural Housing Scheme

New Delhi: Odisha is among the states which might face a penalty if further delay takes place in the completion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin), the central government’s flagship rural housing scheme.

Concerned over the delay in completion of the scheme in some states, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has drawn up a set of penalties that the state governments in case of any further delay, reports said on Friday.

Apart from Odisha, the states which are lagging behind the targets set for implementation of the programme include opposition-ruled West Bengal and Chhattisgarh and BJP-ruled Assam.

The Centre has now introduced a penalty clause under the scheme, launched in 2016 with a target of constructing 2.95 crore houses based on the Socio-Economic Caste Survey, 2011. While the deadline for the scheme was initially set for March 2022, it was extended up to March 2024 due to the COVID pandemic. According to official data, around 2.02 crore houses have been built till August 2022.

In a circular to all states, the Ministry listed six penalty clauses. As one deadline has already been missed due to the pandemic, the move aims at ensuring that the states focus more on meeting the target, they said, adding that no penalty would be imposed if the central funds are not available with the state.

While 93 lakh houses are yet to be constructed under the scheme, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal are stated to be the biggest offenders. The Centre has yet to release funds for 12 lakh houses in Chhattisgarh and 11 lakh houses in West Bengal. Funds were withheld for the current fiscal for various lapses, they said.

While BJD-ruled Odisha has not sanctioned nine lakh houses, BJP-ruled Assam accounts for seven lakh houses. Also among the leading offenders are Maharashtra with 2.5 lakh houses and Bihar with two lakh.

Following complaints from BJP MPs from West Bengal against the Mamata Banerjee government’s move to repackage the scheme as “Bangla Awas Yojana” and lapses, the Centre withheld funds due to a pending response from the state government. The West Bengal government has now reportedly responded to queries raised by the Union Ministry.

In the case of Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, the funds had been withheld for the state’s failure to put in its share of the contribution. As the state has recently paid up its share, work may start after getting the Centre’s share, they said.