The State Government has achieved only seven per cent of the target set for Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), the rural housing scheme for the poor, in the first four months of the current financial year.
According to the monthly progress report, construction of 21,289 houses under the centrally sponsored scheme has been completed against annual target of 2,93,522 houses.
The latest report submitted to the Centre stated that about 1.13 lakh houses are under different stages of construction. Of the completed housing units, 7,275 beneficiaries belong to scheduled castes while 5,221 beneficiaries belong to scheduled tribes and 795 to minorities.With a carry over of more than 1.26 lakh housing units, the annual target of the Government was to construct 1.28 lakh houses.
The performance of Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj districts is very disappointing as not a single house has been completed in the two districts.The Government has sanctioned 22,223 and 17,394 units for Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj districts respectively.
While 5,318 and 5,358 beneficiaries of the two districts have taken up construction of their houses under the scheme, none of them has completed it.
Physical achievement is only one per cent of the target in Malkangiri, two per cent in Boudh, three per cent in Kandhamal, Koraput and Sundargarh districts, four per cent in Dhenkanal, five per cent in Nabarangpur and six per cent in Sambalpur district. Sonepur, Keonjhar, Bhadrak and Bargarh have performed well with an achievement of more than 12 per cent. Sonepur has topped the list with 24 per cent achievement completing 625 of 2,557 houses.
With an outstanding balance of Rs 150.75 crore, the total availability of fund under IAY scheme was Rs 491.73 crore. However, the State has utilised Rs 71.66 crore till the end of July which is 15 per cent of the total fund.
Last year, the Centre sanctioned fund for nearly one lakh houses for people enjoying the land rights under Forest Rights Act (FRA). The Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned Rs 362.52 crore additional assistance towards Central share and released ` 181.12 crore as first instalment.
But the State Government has been able to utilise six per cent of the fund by utilising Rs 79 crore available with the Department for construction of 325 houses.