Kolkata, Nov 13 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said 12,000 fake beneficiaries who had allegedly received housing assistance fraudulently under the previous TMC regime would be identified and legal action would be taken against them.
“As stated by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, 57,000 fake beneficiaries had applied illegally under the previous government’s Banglar Bari project and were delisted. We have already identified 12,000 among them who received the money and have asked them to return the amount. While 1,000 have returned the money, I ask the rest to do the same,” he told a press conference.
Adhikari said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired judge has been constituted to probe the institutional corruption that allegedly took place during the previous regime.
“Officials who facilitated these beneficiaries in fraudulently obtaining monetary assistance will be identified and action taken against them. We will launch a CID probe,” Adhikari said.
Accusing the previous TMC government of politicising the rural housing scheme for the poor, Adhikari said, “They had falsely claimed that 18-19 lakh people covered under their Banglar Bari project would not get money if the BJP came to power.”
“But we proved that wrong as we don’t believe in discriminating on the basis of political affiliation, caste or community, and disbursed money in the first phase,” he added.
On the PM Surya Ghar scheme, which promotes the use of rooftop solar panels, he said the state had received 1.1 lakh units and urged rural households to install solar panels to avoid rising electricity costs.
Adhikari also said around 8,000 employees would be recruited in the panchayat department, subject to cabinet approval.
The chief minister said 1.65 crore women have benefitted from Annapurna Yojana and that the verification of OBC beneficiaries would be completed by December 1.
An official statement said the state government on Friday released Rs 4,201 crore to around 7 lakh beneficiaries as the second instalment of financial assistance for completing houses sanctioned under the rural housing scheme.
“Adhikari announced the disbursement at a programme held at Nabanna Sabhaghar, where cheques were distributed to selected beneficiaries. Similar programmes were organised across blocks and districts of the state, with local ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public representatives participating virtually,” it said.
With the latest disbursement, the state government has cumulatively released Rs 10,323 crore during the current phase towards the second instalment of financial assistance to approximately 17.21 lakh eligible beneficiaries, according to the statement.
The beneficiaries are entitled to receive Rs 60,000 each as the second instalment for completing houses sanctioned under the scheme.
In addition to housing assistance, each beneficiary will receive Rs 27,000 towards wage employment through convergence with the VB-GRAM-G scheme and Rs 12,000 for toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), minister-in-charge of panchayats and rural development Dilip Ghosh said.
The housing scheme also facilitates convergence with various central and state government programmes to provide eligible households with essential amenities, including safe drinking water, subsidised electricity and LPG connections, the statement said.
According to Ghosh, 1.74 lakh beneficiaries have already completed construction of their houses during the current phase, while the remaining houses are expected to be completed by March 2027.
Paschim Banga Awaas Yojana is a flagship housing initiative of the West Bengal government aimed at providing safe and permanent housing to eligible rural families.
“Earlier it was called Banglar Bari, but we have rechristened it as Paschim Banga Awas Yojama as the name Paschim Banga carries a special significance for us,” Adhikari said.
(PTI News)
