Indira Awas Yojna falls short of target: CAG

NEW DELHI: The previous UPA government in five years between 2008 and 2013 spent Rs 60,239 crore with a target to construct over 427 lakh houses for the rural poor across the country under its ambitious Indira Awas Yojna.
However, a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), tabled in Parliament on Friday, said the government’s ambitious programme fell short by almost 25% of its target and by the start of the 12th Plan (2012-17) the shortfall of houses for the rural poor was almost at the same level that it was at the start of the 11th five year plan.
The CAG in its report has said that the housing shortage assessed at the beginning of 11th Plan was 427 lakh which remained almost the same at the beginning of the 12th plan at 400 lakh.
The auditor has pointed out several irregularities in the implementation of the scheme which resulted not only in slow progress in the construction of houses but in several cases the benefits went to the ineligible beneficiaries. At least Rs 140 crore was disbursed to individuals who were outside the waitlist, and more than 37,000 houses were built for those who were above the poverty line not eligible under the scheme.
A random check in 4,800 villages in 168 districts revealed multiple payments were made to those who already owned pucca houses, thus defeating the very purpose of the scheme.
“In 12 states, 36,751 non-BPL families were given assistance of Rs 89.15 crore. In 11 states, 10,184 ineligible beneficiaries were selected and Rs 31.73 crore was paid to them,” the Comptroller and Auditor General's performance audit of IAY states.
The report tabled in Parliament today said in seven states, 33,536 beneficiaries were selected from outside the permanent IAY wait-lists and paid assistance of Rs 138.02 crore.
“In eight states, 1,654 beneficiaries who received assistance of Rs 5.37 crore, already had pucca houses. In eight states, 5,824 beneficiaries were selected more than once and payment of Rs 14.67 crore was made to them.
“In six states, allotment of dwelling units in the name of female members of the household was not preferred,” the CAG said.
The government auditor noted that the assessment of housing shortage was mainly based on the estimation of Working Group under the Planning Commission on Rural Housing.
It, however, noted that the actual housing shortage (essential for identification of beneficiaries) was not assessed in 14 states viz Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and three districts of Punjab.