Kolkata, Nov 13 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday set November 30 as the deadline for ineligible beneficiaries of the state’s rural housing scheme to return funds received in violation of eligibility norms, warning of stringent legal action against those who fail to comply.
He also ordered a CID probe, by constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT), into 57,000 suspected fictitious beneficiaries detected during a field verification exercise, alleging large-scale irregularities in the disbursement of public funds.
Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna, Adhikari said government officials found to have facilitated the irregularities would also face strict action, including departmental proceedings.
“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 by the end of this month,” he said.
“You must return the money by November 30 and spare yourselves possible legal complications. We will not allow you to retain this money. You have to return it because you are not eligible beneficiaries,” the CM added.
The more serious concern, however, was the detection of suspected fictitious beneficiaries, whose actual existence could not be established during the field verification, the chief minister said.
There were allegations that fraudulent bank accounts had been opened in the names of deceased or relocated individuals to siphon off government assistance.
“There will be legal action against these 57,000 cases. We have to find out how Rs 60,000 of public money reached each of their accounts,” Adhikari said.
He said the CID would investigate who had recommended these names for inclusion in the beneficiary list and whether officials at different levels of the administration had facilitated the alleged fraud.
An SIT would be constituted to oversee the investigation, Adhikari said.
“Officials who facilitated these beneficiaries in fraudulently obtaining monetary assistance will be identified and action will be taken against them,” he said.
“Besides constituting a committee headed by retired judge Biswajit Basu to examine corruption and the misuse of public funds across different levels of the state administration, we have reactivated the state Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), which he said had remained largely inactive for a prolonged period,” the CM added.
The announcements came as the state government disbursed the second instalment of financial assistance under its ‘West Bengal Awas’ scheme, transferring Rs 4,201.026 crore through RTGS to the bank accounts of 7,00,171 beneficiaries across the state.
Of these, 180 beneficiaries attended the programme at Nabanna Sabhaghar, while others joined virtually.
With Friday’s disbursement, the state government released a total of Rs 10,323 crore as the second instalment to around 17.21 lakh eligible beneficiaries under the current phase of the West Bengal Awas scheme to help them complete construction of their houses, officials said.
The beneficiaries are entitled to receive Rs 60,000 each as the second instalment for completing houses sanctioned under the scheme.
In the first phase, on August 6, around 10.20 lakh beneficiaries received approximately Rs 6,122 crore.
The scheme, earlier known as ‘Banglar Bari’ under the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government, was renamed ‘West Bengal Awas’ by the present administration.
Accusing the erstwhile 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,” he added.
Adhikari also directed district magistrates to monitor the prices of construction materials, particularly bricks and sand, to prevent beneficiaries from being overcharged.
Officials, he said, have been asked to ensure that sand is made available to beneficiaries at prices not exceeding Rs 1,200.
On the PM Surya Ghar scheme, which promotes the use of rooftop solar panels, Adhikari said the state had received 1.1 lakh units and urged rural households to install solar panels to avoid rising electricity costs.
Under the scheme, central subsidies of Rs 30,000, Rs 60,000 and Rs 78,000 are available for installations of 1 kW, 2 kW and 3 kW capacity, respectively.
The state government will provide an additional Rs 15,000 to beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
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
Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh said beneficiaries would receive an additional Rs 27,000 towards wages for 90 to 95 days of work under the VB-G RAM G scheme, besides Rs 12,000 for toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
This would take the overall assistance available for house construction and related facilities to around Rs 1.5 lakh, he added.
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.
(PTI News)
