BJP demands CBI probe into alleged corruption in PM Awas Yojana in Odisha

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded a probe into alleged corruption in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Odisha.

Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar, Odisha BJP General Secretary, Prithviraj Harichandan said that the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is now doing new political drama instead of implementing the PMAY, to hide its own inefficiency ahead of 2024 polls.

Harichandan said that scores of eligible beneficiaries are waiting to reap the benefits of the scheme due to non-implementation and the ruling BJD has started targeting the BJP instead.

Also Read: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan lambasts Odisha govt over 'PMAY failure'

The BJP leader added that the Odisha government was forced to install a grievance box in all blocks and panchayats in February 2020 after BJP raised the issue of irregularities in the preparation of the list of beneficiaries in 2019. But till now no action has been taken on what happened to the grievances and the state government needs to answer, said Harichandan adding that the surveys were also conducted thrice by the officials along with the BJD leaders.

The BJP alleged that BJD is collecting money from people for allotting houses under the scheme. BJD is collecting Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 from people in this regard, he added.

“The list of several eligible beneficiaries was deleted after surveys and if the state government wants transparency it should order a CBI probe so that the people looting the poor people’s money are booked,” said Harichandan.

According to Harichandan, several beneficiaries have been left out of the PMAY due to the inefficiency of the state government. “We give 30 days’ time to rectify this, else BJP will gherao each block office and hit the streets to wake up the government,” Harichandan added.