‘Irregularities’ in housing list: Villagers vandalise Gram Panchayat office

Cooch Behar: A housing scheme meeting at the Putimari-II Gram Panchayat (GP) office in Dinhata, Cooch Behar district on Sunday, soon snowballed into unrest as angry villagers protested against their exclusion from the Bangla Awas Yojana housing list.

The situation escalated when villagers locked the Panchayat Pradhan, the Joint Block Development Officer (BDO) and other officials inside the office and vandalised chairs, tables, and property.

The incident unfolded during a Gram Sabha meeting, where local residents expressed outrage over alleged irregularities in the housing scheme list. They claimed that while neighbouring Gram Panchayats had higher numbers of beneficiaries, only 368 names were included in the Putimari-II Gram Panchayat’s list. Many villagers claimed that deserving families had been excluded, while names of individuals who already owned houses were included. Atiqul Rahman, a local resident, stated: “The names of people genuinely in need are missing from the list, while those who already have houses are listed. This injustice has angered the villagers and led to such actions.” The protest and vandalism prompted a response from Dinhata police, which arrived at the scene to restore order.

Addressing the situation, Dinhata Block Panchayat Development Officer (BPDO) Arijit Sarkar said: “The protest occurred due to the exclusion of names from the housing list. We will investigate and consider including the omitted names in the second list or provide housing assistance through other means. However, taking the law into one’s own hands is unacceptable.”