Center Raises Objections Over Bengal's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Report

The Center has requested that the state submit a second report by November 30th, pointing out flaws in the Bengal government's action taken report (ATR) on Delhi's recommendations, which were sent in March, to address the issues found by the central teams in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

"It is said that the senior officers' team discovered errors in the ATR that the state government filed for three districts: South 24 Parganas, Kalimpong, and Nadia. The letter from the deputy secretary of the Union ministry of rural development on November 15 states, "As a result, the state government is requested to share the ATR within 15 days of the date of letter to this ministry, i.e. by 30th November, 2023."

According to the letter, a team of senior officers discovered that the PMAY survey was improperly conducted and that the state government was not adhering to the PMAY exclusion criteria in rural Nadia since recipients' lists included those who owned motorcycles or two-wheelers.

The letter states, "Furthermore, the team discovered that state government officials are changing the name of the scheme in their communications, which was also observed by NLM (national level monitoring) team."

Regarding Kalimpong, the Center noted that of the seven residences the NLM team visited, three did not have the PMAY insignia on them. The housing scheme's urban area emblem was placed on one apartment. Of the seven units the crew visited, the logo of the plan was present on four of them, which is a departure.

The team discovered that in the South 24 Parganas example, a beneficiary was approved for a dwelling unit even though he was residing in a semi-kutcha home, which is also an exception.

The Center provided its remarks on the aberrations observed in districts like East and West Midnapore, East Burdwan, Murshidabad, and Darjeeling separately in addition to these three districts.

According to state panchayat department sources, these topics have previously been covered in ATRs.

A senior state government official said, "We will send another ATR on Monday if they want a fresh reply."

According to sources inside the panchayat department, recommendations were given by the Gram Sabha to all beneficiaries in compliance with the Center's directives.

According to a source, "the state cannot reject any name that the Gram Sabhas recommended in accordance with the directive of the rural development ministry."

Nonetheless, the letter from Delhi takes on importance since it was issued just before the chief minister's planned party meeting to discuss what to do about the Center's decision to withhold the transfer of cash under the rural development projects.

In order to demand the allocation of funding for the 100-day employment plan and rural housing initiatives in Delhi and Calcutta, the governing party in Bengal has already organized many protests under the direction of Trinamul's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee.

The next phase of the protest, which would demand the release of funding for rural development, will be decided by the chief minister. A minister said, "It is obvious that the Center is under pressure, which is why it is sending needless letters."

According to sources, it's unclear why almost all of the concerns expressed by the Center in March of this year were brought up again in November given that the state has addressed them all.

"Clearly, the Center did not provide monies for political purposes alone. According to a source, it is now attempting to defend its actions by posing pointless queries.