BENGALURU: Even after a lapse of 13 years, the project to build 1,336 houses and ensure a pucca house for eligible urban households under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) has not come to fruition at BGS Layout in the Kanakapura City Municipal Council limits, within the Kanakapura Assembly Constituency, represented by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
This came to light when Upa Lokayukta Justice KN Phaneendra made a surprise visit to Kanakapura town, on December 19. He said only a few houses have been completed though the construction began in 2013. The half-built houses are in a dilapidated condition. Weeds and bushes grow around them. Only a few street lights are there. The people who are living in completed houses are in fear, as snakes are common.
He said there is no drainage system, sewage clogging, and foul smell emanating from the solid waste management unit. Children and elderly people are falling ill frequently because of flies swarming and mosquitoes breeding, the locals told Upa Lokayukta.
When he questioned about the delay in project implementation, the officials informed him that the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited entrusted the project of building 1,336 houses to Karnataka State Habitat Centre (KSHC). It issued a work order in 2013 to complete the houses within 6 months. The cost of each house was estimated at Rs 1,80 lakh. The State and Centre have to release Rs 75,000 each, and the beneficiary has to bear Rs 30,000. Accordingly, construction of 419 houses began.
The Municipal Council issued a work order to KSHC in 2018 for the construction of the remaining 917 houses. The cost of each unit was Rs 3.05 lakh.
Of which, Rs 1.50 lakh has to be released by the Centre, Rs 1.20 lakh by the State and Rs 35,000 by the beneficiary. However, some beneficiaries are not ready to bear their share of the money to build houses.
Meanwhile, the local MLA decided to use wooden windows, doors, and tiles for houses instead of iron windows, doors, and a cement floor. It was resolved to collect Rs 63,000 each from the beneficiary, instead of Rs 35,000.
Subsequently, a work order was issued to be completed within 10 months, but to date, the project has not been completed. Noting that not handing over the houses to the needy is a violation of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and also amounts to maladministration and dereliction of duty on the part of the Commissioner Srinivasa, CMC, and Project Director Supreeth, KSHC, under Section 2(10) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, the Upa Lokayukta registered the case against them, sought explanation for delay and solution to address the issue in a time-bound manner.
He also marked a copy to the Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, Urban Development Minister Suresh B S, and District In-Charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy and Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru South, Managing Director, RGHCL, for necessary action.