Raiganj civic body to initiate legal action against housing scheme defaulters

Raiganj: The authorities of Raiganj Municipality in North Dinajpur have decided to take legal action against beneficiaries who received financial assistance under the ‘Housing for All’ scheme several years ago but failed to commence construction of their houses. The decision was taken after multiple reminders and notices yielded no response.

Under the scheme, each beneficiary is allotted a total fund of Rs 3.68 lakh for building a house, of which the state government provides Rs 1.93 lakh, while the Central government contributes Rs 1.5 lakh, and the remaining Rs 25,000 is required to be borne by the beneficiary. According to official records, since 2015, a total of 7,496 houses have been sanctioned in different phases across the municipality. Of them, 5,248 beneficiaries have completed the construction and started residing in their houses, while 2,248 constructions are currently in progress. However, 547 beneficiaries allegedly did not begin construction even after receiving the first instalment of the grant.

Municipality sources said that earlier notices were issued to these beneficiaries directing them to start construction, but many neither complied nor communicated with the authorities. Explaining her situation, Tapasi Saha, a resident of Ward No. 15, said: “We received Rs 45,000 in the first phase, but it was not sufficient to begin construction. Later, we had to use the amount for medical treatment. If the municipality demands, we are ready to refund the money after a few days.”

Another beneficiary, Bimalendu Saha, stated: “Some people who borrowed from private lenders to start partial construction were unable to continue due to the delay in receiving further instalments. The money we received is still unused. If we do not get additional support from the government, we are willing to return the funds.”

Sandip Biswas, Administrator of Raiganj Municipality, said: “These 547 beneficiaries received the funds more than two years ago, but did not initiate work or maintain communication. We will issue final notices shortly, after which lawful action will follow.”