A total of 15 officials, including six Block Development Officers who served in Pudukottai district, have been booked on charges of swindling funds meant for the construction of houses for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (Prime Minister’s Rural Housing Scheme).
Acting on a vigilance report, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption registered a case against the officials, including some who were retired or were dismissed from service, for processing fake documents to show as if houses were built for nine beneficiaries and misappropriating funds to the tune of ₹17.70 lakh.
PMAY-G is a scheme jointly funded by the Centre and the State government, under which beneficiaries get ₹1.7 lakh each for constructing a house. Implemented through the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, the scheme provides for Block Development Officers to identify beneficiaries on the basis of the Socio-Economic Caste Census.
While ₹1.2 lakh would be disbursed in cash, construction materials like cement, steel and wooden doors, worth ₹50,000, would be provided in four stages. To ensure proper utilisation of the funds, the Block Development Officer, the engineers and other supervisory officials have to inspect the construction site and upload photographs of the construction in different stages on the Awas mobile app.
According to the vigilance report, the accused officials fabricated documents to claim that the houses were constructed in the…
