SHILLONG, Jan 31: The State BJP has now flagged a scam in the centrally-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) claiming that beneficiaries were being cheated by political agents who double up as middlemen and strike the deals on behalf of the villagers making a sizeable profit in the process.
Stating that under PMAY, financial assistance of Rs 1.30 lakh is provided to beneficiaries for construction of pucca houses to households with their own homes and kutcha houses in rural areas, State BJP vice president and party Spokesperson, Bernard Marak said, “In Garo Hills, the villagers are being cheated by political agents who act as middlemen between the public and the block officials and make the deals before issuing the scheme”.
Backing his claims with a voice recording of a political agent from Selsella block in West Garo Hills making a deal with a villager, the BJP Spokesperson said, “In the recording, the agent is heard assuring the scheme to a villager and instructing him on how he can complete construction of his at a cost of Rs 90,000.”
“In the recording, the agent is instructing the villager to set aside a specific amount of not less than Rs 10,000 for officials per household,” Marak added.
“PMAY was supposed to benefit the rural poor; however the poor are being looted in the name of the scheme. Sub-standard PMAY houses is not something BJP will compromise on,” he asserted.
“From what could be understood from the voice recording, the agents who are local political leaders seem to have good influence on the officials at the block level and this needs to be verified by the authorities,” Marak said, while adding that the audio recording has been forwarded to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Power Minister James Sangma, Lok Sabha member Agatha Sangma and the DC and SP of West Garo Hills with a request for immediate action.
