-Municipal corporation cancels the construction of 33,000 houses
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a major setback to the beneficiaries of the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the municipal corporation has canceled the construction of 33,000 houses. The decision came after an inquiry committee found irregularities in the tender process and allegations of a scam by the contractor, 'Samrath' construction company.
The PMAY scheme, launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aimed to provide housing for all by 2022. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 80,000 beneficiaries applied for the scheme, but the municipal corporation did not take any action until the scheme was due to expire in March 2022.
The contractor submitted the project plan to the State government without consulting the district administration, and the State and Central governments approved the plan without inspecting the site. However, the inquiry committee found that the site for the housing scheme, allocated by the district administration to the municipal corporation, had huge hills and old mines, making it unsuitable for building houses.
Local MLAs raised concerns about the capacity of the contractor and alleged fraud in the tender process. The contractor submitted three tenders from the same IP address, leading to a case of fraud being registered at the City Chowk police station. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also conducted raids on the contractor's premises.
Corporation reinitiates the process
The municipal corporation has now reinitiated the tender process for only 6200 houses, leaving 33000 beneficiaries without homes. Over 40,000 beneficiaries had applied for the PMAY scheme in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and the cancellation of the construction of 33,000 houses has shattered the dreams of many poor people.