Houses allotted to dead people, NRIs under PMAY, allege Barabanki residents

Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Sept 25 (ANI): In a big setback to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, villagers of Shekhpur Alipur village in the Ram Nagar block here alleged corruption in implementing the scheme saying that some of the houses were allotted to NRIs and dead people.
"My father Kamlesh Kumar, died on September 14 in 2015. I was informed that his name has appeared in the Pradhan Mantri Awas list in 2017. In 2018 the money was allotted for it, but we did not receive the money. We are eight siblings and we are forced to live in a dilapidated house even after a house has been allotted under the scheme to my father," Amar Singh told ANI on Tuesday.
"Around 51 houses were allotted in the Pradhan Mantra Awas Yojna list in 2017-18 in our village, out of these around 18 houses have been built. But the money which was withdrawn from the banks did not come to us. Who is receiving the money, we don't know. The village Pradhan and secretary all are involved in this mismanagement," said Ram Rawat, a villager.
"There is also a flat which has been allotted to a person Danish Ali, who lives in Dubai. The money has been withdrawn from the bank but the name of the recipient is not available on the internet. Kalirai Sahab is pradhan of this area and he with his sons is doing what he wants. We had made the complaint to DM, BDO and other authorities but no one is listening," he added.
Another villager Ram Khilavan Gautam also claimed he did not receive a house till now and is facing a lot of difficulties in availing the benefit.
"My name is on the list. But neither do I have a house under the scheme nor a toilet. If I go and complaint the police beats me. Nobody in my family received the house and we are living in poor conditions," he told ANI.
When contacted the District Magistrate Adarsh Singh, he said that the names are allotted based on the population survey done by the government.
"We do receive such complaints for which we have a management authority who does the investigation. Moreover, the action is initiated against the person in charge for any mismanagement. Sometimes, the action leads to an FIR in case of grave offences," Singh said.
The DM further promised to initiate an investigation in the matter and to resolve the issue after enquiry.
The PMAY is aimed at providing houses to those who are from economically weaker section of the society. (ANI)