BHUBANESWAR: With the progress of rural housing scheme sluggish, the State Government has directed district Collectors to achieve the target set for the current financial year.
The cumulative achievement in construction of houses for rural poor under different schemes is only 21 per cent as on January 30.
In 2016-17, the State Government has allotted seven lakh houses to the districts under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana (BPGY).
A review of the rural housing programme by Chief Secretary AP Padhi with district Collectors over video conferencing revealed that only 1.5 lakh houses have been completed by end of January.
The ensuing panchayat elections should not come in the way of execution of work order already issued in favour of beneficiaries, Padhi told the Collectors.
The directive of the Chief Secretary came in the wake of opposition political parties petitioning the State Election Commission (SEC) against issue of work orders for projects already sanctioned by the State Government.
The Government has further set a target to impart masonry training to 30,000 persons by the end of this fiscal.
About 60,000 houses will be constructed during the training programme, sources in Panchayati Raj Department said.