Tigiria -: In Kalibiri village under Gadadharapur Panchayat of Tigiria block, many deserving and eligible beneficiaries have been excluded from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) housing list. Meanwhile, names of several ineligible individuals have been included, sparking strong discontent among the local residents. Such discrepancies have also been observed in several other panchayats of the block.
According to sources, some of the affected beneficiaries have submitted complaints to the Block Development Officer (BDO). Although the central government has initiated the housing scheme for the poor and those below the poverty line, the negligent approach of local administration has led to such situations.
For instance, Shiva Prusti, a daily wage laborer from Nua Sahi of Kalibiri village, supports his family of four through manual labor. He lives in a dilapidated asbestos-roofed house with his wife Manjulata Prusti and two sons – Premananda (in Class 2) and Rasananda (in Class 7). During moderate rainfall, water floods the house up to knee level. Due to his financial condition, he is unable to repair or construct a new house.
A few months ago, Shiva suffered a serious leg injury in an accident and had to borrow over a lakh rupees for medical treatment. His wife Manjulata stated that given their financial constraints, it is impossible for them to build a house on their own. Therefore, they had hoped to receive a house under the PMAY scheme.
However, despite being surveyed twice by the block office team, Shiva’s name did not appear in the final housing list, which left his family shocked and disappointed.
Similarly, Sushama Sahoo (65) from Sanu Sahi of Kalibiri village—an unmarried woman who is mentally challenged and 90% physically disabled (as certified)—also failed to make it to the housing scheme list. Sushama, who currently lives in her brother’s house, had hoped to get a home under PMAY to finally have a proper roof over her head. But despite her severe condition and eligibility, her name was omitted after the survey.
There are reportedly many more eligible individuals in Kalibiri village who were overlooked in the list, while several undeserving names were included.
According to information, survey teams were formed for each panchayat in the block to identify and collect data on eligible beneficiaries for PMAY. These teams visited the households starting from March and recommended names based on their findings. The survey process continued till May 31st, and the names of selected beneficiaries were announced in the first week of June.
Now, the local residents are demanding that the administration conduct a fresh survey immediately to include all eligible beneficiaries and remove the names of ineligible ones from the list.
