Govt finds it difficult to select beneficiaries

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 2

The socio-economic census has not been released for the state due to which the government is facing difficulty in selecting beneficiaries for providing houses under the Indira Avas Yojana (IAY) to the poor.

Officials in the Department of Rural Development said as the beneficiaries were selected on the basis of their socio-economic status, the government was in a bind over the selection of beneficiaries.

“The Central Government has already asked the state to select the beneficiaries on the basis of the socio-economic status but since the data has not been released, the process has not started in the state,” said a senior official.

In the past, the Department of Rural Development had selected beneficiaries on the basis of the survey carried for BPL card holders.

The problem of the department has further compounded as the Central Government has released the first installment of Rs 3crore for 2015-16 and the state government was yet to begin work on the programme which has already been delayed.

“We have selected 6,434 beneficiaries for 2015-16 based on the old BPL survey and will ask the Central Government to allow us to use this data so that we can get on with our work,” said the official.

Further, the Central Government has also drastically reduced its share of assistance making it 50:50, which has increased the financial burden of the state.

Earlier, the sharing pattern was in 75:25 ratio. Now, with the reduced Central share, the state government will have to bear the additional burden, while implementing the scheme.