Failure of Nagpur Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (NMRDA) to open an account with nationalised bank has put paid to hopes of poor people’s dream of owning their house. Under ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)’, Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA) Nagpur office was notified as nodal agency. The MHADA in turn contracted the work to NMRDA wherein 23 projects got sanction from Central Government as well as from Monitoring Committee at State-level. While Central Government provides Rs 60,000 per case, and allocated Rs 11.116 crore to State Government, the latter allocated Rs 1 lakh for 12 projects. Thus an amount of Rs 58.796 crore was distributed to NMRDA. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Chandrashekhar Bawankule raised the issue of non-disbursal of benefit among the beneficiaries. Replying to Bawankule, Chief Engineer and State-Level Co-ordination Officer, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, MHADA, stated that as per norms a zero balance subsidiary account was must in nationalised bank to enable NMRDA to draw the amount.

 

NMRDA officials have been repeatedly communicated the need to open the account with nationalised bank without which they cannot authorise distribution of funds to beneficiaries. NMRDA has received first installment of Rs. 119,396 crores plus Rs. 143.71 crore as grant of State Government. The Chief Engineer further stated that they have already submitted compliance letter of completion of construction work under PM Awas Yojana. Similarly details of funds disbursed earlier as forwarded by NMRDA were also shared with Central agency.

 

The beneficiaries are given the funds in three to four installments after verifying the completion of each stage of construction. Now only the last installment is pending for disbursal to the poor people. A sum of Rs. 2.50 lakh was approved for beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana in Nagpur District and three DPRs were also sanctioned. Now Rs. 90,000 the last installment has still not been credited in account of beneficiaries of first DPR while those figuring in second and third list are yet to get Rs. 1.50 lakh dues. The legislator asked concerned agencies to take corrective measures.