Curation Team
PRAYAGRAJ: The Prayagraj district administration has launched recovery proceedings against over 2,000 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) who received funds but failed to construct their houses. After sending notices, the administration is now preparing to issue Recovery Certificates (RCs) from the respective tehsils to reclaim the misused public funds.
A total of 1,507 rural beneficiaries under PMAY-Gramin and 504 urban beneficiaries under PMAY-Urban did not complete their homes despite receiving government assistance. Notably, nearly 470 individuals in the urban sector received financial aid almost six years ago but have yet to build their houses, despite receiving all instalments.
Of these, more than 400 beneficiaries did not even lay the foundation for their houses. Another 100 managed to build only partial structures such as incomplete walls. Urban areas such as Jhalwa, Dhoomanganj, Salori, Baghara, Rajapur, Kareli and Rajrooppur have the highest concentration of defaulters. Similarly, beneficiaries from towns like Sirsa, Bharatganj, Koraon, Shankargarh, Handia, Phulpur, Mauaima and Lal Gopalganj also failed to utilise the sanctioned funds appropriately.
The issue is particularly widespread in rural areas, where approximately 1,450 beneficiaries across tehsils such as Koraon, Meja, Karchhana, Bara, Phulpur, and Handia failed to initiate construction despite receiving all installments of government aid. In most cases, the homes did not progress beyond the foundation stage, with some plots not even undergoing excavation.
To address this issue, the District Urban Development Agency (DUDA) is preparing to send a formal report to the concerned tehsils for the issuance of Recovery Certificates (RCs) against urban defaulters. DUDA is also working on similar documentation for rural areas to take further action.
Chief development officer Harshika Singh emphasised that beneficiaries who receive financial aid under the PMAY must ensure the funds are used strictly for home construction. Those who ignored three notices and failed to show progress in construction will now face strict recovery action.
This crackdown is part of a broader move to enforce accountability and ensure that govt schemes reach genuine beneficiaries who intend to utilise the support for their intended purpose, say officials of the district administration.
