Over 12L houses given to beneficiaries of schemes: Odisha govt

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Friday said it has so far provided 12.76 lakh houses to beneficiaries under different rural housing schemes since 2014-15.

In the current financial year, the number of house constructions crossed 1.42 lakh, taking the total figure of completed houses to 12.76 lakh since 2014-15, a government official said.

During a review meeting of district-wise progress, Chief Secretary A P Padhi directed all collectors and project directors to scale up construction activities for achievement of 100 per cent of targets given to each district.

Padhi also asked them to curb alleged unethical practices being followed during implementation of the rural housing schemes, and take action against the guilty.

Panchayati Raj Secretary D R Singh appealed to the collectors and project directors to ensure timely payment of bills and incentives to the beneficiaries.

The state government had declared an incentive of Rs 20,000 to the beneficiaries who complete their houses within four months from the issue of work order, and Rs 10,000 for completion within six months.

Singh said, till today, a total number of 12,76,124 housing units have been completed under the schemes like Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, India Awas Yojana and Nirma Shramik Pucca Ghar Yojana.

The target has been set to complete around 6.5 lakh houses during 2017-18 fiscal. So far, around 1,42,902 houses have been completed, and construction of other houses has been expedited.

Padhi also reviewed the progress of piped drinking water projects in different districts. Collectors were directed to complete the ongoing 261 projects by the end of December, 2017.

A total of 1,895 new drinking water projects have been sanctioned for different districts and urban local bodies.