Villagers lock Panchayat office in protest over housing scheme exclusion

Cooch Behar: Residents of Chilakhana-I Gram Panchayat (GP) in Tufanganj-I Block locked the Panchayat office on Wednesday, staging a protest over their exclusion from a housing scheme. The protest stemmed from the absence of names in the beneficiary list for booths 81 and 82.

Upon receiving news of the protest, Gram Panchayat Pradhan Buddhadev Das and the Block Development Officer (BDO) arrived at the scene. After discussions with the aggrieved villagers, the lock was removed and the protest was called off.

The villagers alleged that despite multiple appeals since 2021, no corrective action has been taken. Shahidar Ali, one of the protesters, said: “While people across the state are receiving houses under the housing scheme, residents of booths 81 and 82 remain excluded. We raised the issue with both the Gram Panchayat Pradhan and the BDO, but no progress has been made.”

Shahida Bibi, another resident, echoed similar sentiments, expressing frustration over the lack of housing scheme benefits for the area.

Chilakhana-I Gram Panchayat Pradhan Buddhadev Das acknowledged the issue, attributing it to a technical error in the 2018 survey. “Steps initiated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee aim to ensure eligible beneficiaries receive houses. However, a surveyor error led to the exclusion of names from these booths, causing unrest. We are exploring ways to resolve this issue,” Das stated.

The BDO of Tufanganj-I Block declined to comment on the matter.