PMAY irregularities: Centre seeks fresh ATR from Bengal government

Kolkata : The Union ministry of rural development has sought fresh action taken reports (ATR) on the irregularities in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme in three districts of the state. As per the communication forwarded to the state panchayat and rural development department secretary by the deputy secretary to the Union government Shakti Kant Singh, a copy of which is available with IANS, the three districts for which the fresh ATRs have been sought are Nadia, Kalimpong and South 24 Parganas.

In the letter, it has been stated that fresh ATRs have been sought following irregularities detected in the earlier ATRs submitted by the state government in the case of these three districts. In the communiqué, the Union government also raised objections to the name of the Central scheme being changed by the state government in the case of Nadia district. The state government officials have been accused of lackadaisical checking of the exclusion categories under the central scheme before finalizing the beneficiaries’ lists. It has been pointed out that in Nadia district even motorcycle or two-wheeler owners have been included in the list of beneficiaries.

In the communiqué, the state government has been advised to submit the fresh ATRs for these three districts by November 30. Sources in the state government said that they will reply to this communiqué by Tuesday.

Political observers feel that with this communiqué, a fresh tussle between the Union and the state governments on this issue is apprehended that will spice up the political scene in the state in the coming days.