Odisha: CAG brings into light loopholes in execution of PMAY houses

By Subrat Sarangi

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 4: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has brought a shocking fact to the light. It has found major lapses in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-Grameen in Odisha.

As per the CAG annual report, while the Union government has set a target to provide houses to all the people by 2022, as many as 8.59 lakh people in the rural areas of the state have been deprived of getting houses under the PMAY scheme.

“There was exclusion of 8.59 lakh beneficiaries, who had been deemed eligible by the Gram Sabhas, from the Permanent Wait List. There was non-adherence to priority numbers in sanction of houses under PMAY-G and the priority number issued were violated while sanctioning houses in all 24 test checked points. Fraudulent work orders were issued and payments were released to non-beneficiaries,” the CAG stated in its performance audit on implementation of the PMAY-G.

“As 0.41 lakh houses could not be sanctioned, the state would have to bear avoidable financial burden of Rs 295 crore. Incomplete houses were shown as completed in Awaas Soft, houses were constructed for commercial purposes, and construction of large size houses were noticed. Beneficiaries were deprived of basic amenities, like drinking water, toilet and electricity, due to failure in converging funds from other relevant schemes. Out of 647 completed houses verified in audit, 347 houses had no toilets, 122 houses had no drinking water facilities, 199 houses had no electricity connection, 291 houses had no LPG provision and 22 houses had no approach road,” the report said.

“There was also irrational provision of wage payment in convergence with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA), as either full wage components were paid before release of the first installment or wages were not paid even after completion of houses up to the roof level. Apart from the State Nodal Account for PMAY-G, another account in ICICI bank was operated and Rs 18.10 crore was irregularly transferred to the account. In 41,146 cases, the first installments were released to the concerned beneficiaries, with delays ranging from 07 to 1,576 days. Out of Administrative funds, Rs 7.83 crore had been incurred on inadmissible items. The Awaas Soft data show incorrect information relating to geolocations of the houses in sampled districts as, in 3,521 cases, the houses were shown located outside the state,” it added.

However, no reactions could be obtained from the Odisha government in this regard.