BHUBANESWAR: Even though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had dedicated 10 lakh pucca houses to the rural poor at a function here on May 18, the Panchayatiraj department does not seem to have any information in this regard.
In a written reply to a question in the Assembly from Dilip Ray (BJP), Minister of State for Panchayatiraj Arun Sahu said information in this regard is under collection, thereby putting a question mark on implementation of the rural housing scheme.
The Minister had, however, said in the Assembly in December, 2015 that construction of 3,02,333 houses was completed till December which included 57,538 houses under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana and 2,44,795 houses under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY).
The Chief Minister had claimed while dedicating the houses to the rural poor that 10 lakh pucca houses were constructed in two years. “We have ensured safe shelter to 50 lakh people of the State. It is a record in the country. We would construct 16 lakh houses in next three years,” he said.
Naveen had said the State Government is committed to convert all kutcha houses to pucca houses as it was one of the promises in the BJD manifesto ahead of 2014 general elections.
However, in a written reply during the ongoing winter session of the Assembly, the Minister of State for Panchayatiraj said information regarding construction of pucca houses is under collection. He also did not reply to the query as to when IAY - the Central Government funded scheme - was started in the State.
As per the latest census report, out of 91,84,785 households in the State, 77,20,226 are in rural areas while 14,64,559 are in urban areas. The report said out of 28,33,289 concrete houses, 18,90,650 houses are in rural areas.