Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan came down heavily upon the Odisha government for its alleged failure to provide houses to eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
During his visit to Parajang and Kamakhyanagar assembly constituencies in Dhenkanal district, Pradhan lambasted the Naveen Patnaik-led government and slammed it for allegedly failing to identify eligible families and provide houses to the poor under the PMAY.
“At least 27 lakh houses have been allotted to the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. But, it is very sad to note that the Odisha government has miserably failed to distribute work orders to the eligible beneficiaries. We have allotted 10,000 houses in Dhenkanal district alone. Moreover, Central government is also giving loans. Despite all the necessary help provided by Centre, Odisha government has failed to help the poor,” said Pradhan.
“They cannot even make proper use of the funds provided by the Centre. So, the Odisha government should first focus on distributing work orders as soon as possible and fulfill the dream of 27 lakh poor in building their own houses,” he added.
Notably, a target was set to provide 9 lakh pucca houses to eligible beneficiaries under the PMAY by June this year.
However, there were several complaints of large-scale irregularities in the allotment of PMAY houses to the beneficiaries in the state.