Were the beneficiaries of Basava Housing Scheme selected as per the norms?
15 Dec, 2013
An application was filed with the Harsur gram panchayat, Gulbarga under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get information regarding the allotment of houses under the Basava Housing Scheme.
The RTI applicant, Shaikh Shafi Ahmed, has claimed that the reply shows huge irregularities in the determination of beneficiaries for the scheme and has alleged that the members of the gram panchayat bypassed all the norms and allotted houses to non-eligible beneficiaries. The applicant has alleged that out of 115 houses allotted in the panchayat under the scheme, 44 have been allotted to the relatives of gram panchayat members, government servants and also some other persons who already have houses. The applicant stated that no information was provided regarding the selection of the beneficiaries and said that it was not certain whether the practice of selecting beneficiaries by conducting Gram Sabhas was adopted or not.
The applicant claimed that the selection was done through a random survey conducted by the nodal officer of the scheme, taluk panchayat executive officer and the panchayat development officer. He claimed that there were discrepancies in the allotment of houses and the income and caste certificates submitted by the beneficiaries.
The government has sanctioned Rs. 16.21 crore for Basava Housing Scheme under which houses are to be constructed through Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation.