KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took strong steps to prevent the alleged misappropriation of funds for the Banglar Bari housing assistance scheme under the regime of the previous Trinamool Congress government in the state.
The state government on Friday directed beneficiaries who had received funds under the scheme fraudulently to refund the government money by November 30.
While speaking to reporters during a press conference at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday, the Chief Minister made the government's stand on the issue clear.
The state government would initiate legal action against 12,000 beneficiaries who allegedly received housing assistance fraudulently during the regime of the Trinamool Congress led by the then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu told reporters.
He also said that the government had already identified the beneficiaries among 57,000 people who were found to have applied illegally for assistance under the previous regime's Banglar Bari housing scheme.
He also directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to take strong legal action against the fake beneficiaries. A probe was also being initiated into officials who allegedly helped in the fraudulent disbursal of funds, he said, adding that a CID (Criminal Investigation Department) inquiry would also be conducted.
According to a report from the state secretariat, 57,000 fake beneficiaries had applied illegally under the previous government's Banglar Bari project and were delisted. Twelve thousand among them had received the money and have been asked to return the amount. About 1,000 have returned the money; the rest will have to do the same, according to the secretariat.
He added that a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired judge had been formed to examine what he described as institutional corruption during the previous government.
Slamming the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government for using the rural housing scheme for political purposes, Suvendu said, “They had falsely claimed that 18-19 lakh people covered under their Banglar Bari project would not get money if the BJP came to power."
"But we proved that wrong as we don't believe in discriminating on the basis of political affiliation, caste or community, and disbursed money in the first phase," he added.
Sources in the state secretariat said that the names of the 12,000 beneficiaries had been deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bengal because they belonged to the ASDD (absent, shifted, dead and duplicate) category.
He also said that around 8,000 employees would be recruited in the panchayat department, subject to cabinet approval.
An official statement issued by the state government on Friday said that Rs 4,201 crore had been released to around 7 lakh beneficiaries as the second instalment of financial assistance for completing houses sanctioned under the rural housing scheme.
"Adhikari announced the disbursement at a programme held at Nabanna Sabhaghar, where cheques were distributed to selected beneficiaries. Similar programmes were organised across blocks and districts of the state, with local ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public representatives participating virtually," it said.
With the latest disbursement, the state government has cumulatively released Rs 10,323 crore during the current phase towards the second instalment of financial assistance to approximately 17.21 lakh eligible beneficiaries, according to the statement.
The beneficiaries are entitled to receive Rs 60,000 each as the second instalment for completing houses sanctioned under the scheme.
In addition to housing assistance, each beneficiary will receive Rs 27,000 towards wage employment through convergence with the VB-GRAM-G scheme and Rs 12,000 for toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), minister-in-charge of panchayats and rural development Dilip Ghosh said.
