West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Protests have erupted in different parts of West Bengal over allegations of exclusion of names of beneficiaries in Banglar Awas Yojana, a scheme providing housing for the rural poor which is referred to in other States as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
While protests had surfaced in parts of South 24 Parganas over the past few days, on Wednesday (October 30, 2024) there were protests in Purulia, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur as well as South 24 Parganas.
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Protesting villagers gathered outside the offices of Block Development Officer (BDO) in different districts and alleged that their names as beneficiaries have been excluded at the behest of local Trinamool Congress leadership.
The BDO’s at various places where the protests had come to fore, assured the people that there was no new survey for allocating houses for rural poor and they will look into allegations of names of beneficiaries being excluded.
The protests have come to the fore at the time when byelections are scheduled in six Assembly constituencies in the State on November 13. Amidst the protests, a notification was issued by the West Bengal government on Wednesday suggesting that fresh verification will be made to look into the names of beneficiaries who have been excluded.
Sources in the West Bengal government said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a meeting with senior ministers of her cabinet earlier this week has pointed out that guidelines for providing houses for rural poor, which has been laid down by the Centre can be relaxed for the interest of beneficiaries. Ms. Banerjee said that authorities should be ‘humane’ in deciding the list of beneficiaries.
Under the PM Awas Yojana, a sum of ₹1.20 lakh is given in two instalments for the beneficiaries of plain areas. For people living in the hills, tribal areas the allocation is ₹1.30 lakh.
While angry villagers are laying siege at the BDO offices alleging exclusion, a section of Trinamool Congress functionaries are blaming party leaders for the omissions. People who have pucca houses or have availed the benefit of the scheme in the past are excluded from the list. The issue has provided a handle to the Opposition parties to target the ruling party.
The first phase of allocation of funds for the beneficiaries is likely to be issued in the month of December. The West Bengal government claims that the funds for the Banglar Awaas Yojana is being issued by the State government as the Centre has stopped the funds to the scheme.
In 2022, similar allegations surfaced against local leaders of the ruling party. As protests gathered momentum in 2022 several instances came to the fore where family members of local Trinamool Congress were found to be beneficiaries of the scheme. The Chief Minister had assured that disciplinary action will be taken against leaders involved in such corruption.
Corruption in Central schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has also come to fore in West Bengal and the Union government has stopped allocating funds to schemes in West Bengal since 2021, resulting in distress in rural areas.
Published – October 30, 2024 09:25 pm IST