Beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the Sardukarkari ADC village, located under the Teliamura block of Tripura, resorted to locking the local panchayat office in protest against the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for their housing projects.
The protest, which took place on Wednesday, led to a significant disruption in the functioning of the panchayat office and garnered the attention of local authorities.
The root of the controversy lies in the alleged diversion of funds allocated for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana houses.
It was alleged, funds meant for the housing projects were ‘mistakenly’ deposited into the accounts of individuals who were not listed as beneficiaries, leaving around 14 intended recipients without the financial means to construct their homes.
This irregularity came to light when concerned beneficiaries realized that the funds had not been transferred to their accounts, and instead, money had been credited to unrelated individuals who were not part of the scheme.
Upon discovering this discrepancy, affected beneficiaries attempted to seek resolution through the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Teliamura. However, they claimed that despite informing BDO Devpriya Das about the issue, no concrete actions were taken to rectify the situation, causing further frustration and distress among the scheme’s beneficiaries.
The situation escalated to a point where, on Wednesday, the aggrieved beneficiaries jointly locked the doors of the Sardukarkari ADC village panchayat office, demanding the prompt transfer of their rightful funds.
The BDO and local police from the Teliamura block reached the spot.
Following prolonged discussions and assurance from the BDO, the panchayat office was eventually reopened.
However, the beneficiaries remained resolute in their demand for the immediate transfer of their due funds to their respective accounts.
The local village panchayat secretary claimed ignorance of the situation, stating that he had no knowledge of the fund diversion.
The beneficiaries, however, asserted that the matter had been brought to the attention of the BDO ten days prior, yet no tangible steps were taken to address the issue.
As the affected beneficiaries continue to face difficulties in building their homes, they call for swift action to ensure the proper disbursement of funds according to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana guidelines.