‘Over 72% houses under Banglar Bari constructed till lintel level’

Kolkata: Over 72 per cent of the total beneficiaries who have received the first installment under Banglar Bari scheme have constructed their house upto the lintel level. As per report of the state Panchayat and Rural Development (P &RD) department, this number accounts for 8,65,164 out of 12 lakh. The report assumes significance with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday officially marking the release of second installment funds for Banglar Bari. As per rules, a person is entitled to get funds for the second installment after the construction upto the lintel level is completed. A number of districts have fared poorly when it comes to proper utilisation of funds of the first installment. South 24-Parganas is the worst performer where 50.19 per cent of the houses have been constructed upto lintel level. 3,158 beneficiaries in this district have not even procured material for construction of houses. Only 82,073 out of 1,63,539 recipients have constructed their houses till lintel level.

South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar are in the second and third position in terms of bad performance with 62.75 and 66.96 per cent houses respectively being constructed upto lintel. In case of South Dinajpur, out of 40,043 beneficiaries, 25,127 houses have been constructed while in Cooch Behar out of 1,13,741 beneficiaries 76,163 houses have been constructed till lintel. Murshidabad, Siliguri, Malda, Birbhum, North 24-Parganas and West Midnapore have also witnessed less than 72 per cent construction. Nadia and West Burdwan with 94.91 and 91.41 have registered the best performance while districts like North Dinajpur, Purulia, Hooghly and Howrah have witnessed over 80 per cent construction. “The department has prioritised release of funds for those beneficiaries who have already constructed their houses upto lintel level, so that those who are lagging behind pick up speed,” said Pradip Mazumdar, minister in-charge of P& RD department. Instructions have been issued for thorough verification of bank account, survey of construction work through field visit prior to release of funds. The total funds under Banglar Bari scheme is 1.20 lakh in two installments of Rs 60,000 each.