The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : District Congress Committee alleges scam in housing scheme

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

District Congress Committee alleges scam in housing scheme

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The District Congress Committee (DCC) has alleged widespread corruption and nepotism in identifying beneficiaries for the Central government-sponsored Indira Awaz Yojana scheme to provide housing for the homeless. DCC president V.S. Sivakumar said the beneficiary list, prepared with the help of Kudumbasree units and forwarded to local bodies from the government, violated the conditions specified by the Centre.

“Economically well-off families, employees, pensioners and owners of two-storey houses have been included as beneficiaries in the scheme designed to provide financial assistance for BPL families to construct or repair houses.

At the same time, poorer sections including farm labourers and people belonging to scheduled castes and backward classes and minority communities have been largely excluded from the list,” Mr. Sivakumar said.

Mr. Sivakumar said most panchayats had failed to meet the mandatory requirements for identifying beneficiaries for the scheme.

“Publication of the waiting list and hearing of complaints have been given the go by. Minutes of gram sabha meetings have been fabricated to include names proposed by LDF leaders,” he alleged.

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