Six months after being hit by severe cyclonic storm Fani, more than 3000 families of Puri district on Friday complained to the Lokayukta that their names have been excluded from the beneficiary list though they suffered heavy damages during the cyclone.
The families from Satyabadi, Kakatpur, Nimapara, Delang, Kanas and Pipili area of Puri district met Lokayukta Ajit Singh at his office in Bhubaneswar and alleged that despite the series of surveys done by the district administration, their names were missing in the list. While some of the villagers filed complaint in groups, at least 50 others lodged individual grievances with the Lokayukta.
“We have demanded that those who have suffered damages should be given assistance. Our main allegation is that local influential leaders have cornered the assistance. We had complained before the tehsildar, BDO and the collector, but did not get any acknowledgement from the district administration. So we had to knock the door of Lokayukta for relief,” said Sushil Sahoo of Satyabadi block in Puri, who is one of the complainants.
Sahoo said the struggle to get a house has become a herculean task for people like him. “After my house was destroyed in cyclone Fani, some government officials came twice to assess the damages. But so far I have received only Rs 3,200. How can one build a house with a meagre assistance while the cost of bricks have gone up substantially,” he said. “At the same time, people who were allotted houses under Pradhan Manri Awas Yojana a few months before the cyclone have been sanctioned Rs 95,000,” alleged Sahoo.
{{/usCountry}}Sahoo said the struggle to get a house has become a herculean task for people like him. “After my house was destroyed in cyclone Fani, some government officials came twice to assess the damages. But so far I have received only Rs 3,200. How can one build a house with a meagre assistance while the cost of bricks have gone up substantially,” he said. “At the same time, people who were allotted houses under Pradhan Manri Awas Yojana a few months before the cyclone have been sanctioned Rs 95,000,” alleged Sahoo.
{{/usCountry}}Another villager Narendra Das alleged that multiple members of one family have been allotted houses separately. “There have been irregularities in allotment of houses. Without proper survey, Revenue Inspector has made the list of beneficiaries. In the final list the names of several deserving beneficiaries have been deleted,” said Das.
The villagers alleged that financial assistance has been distributed among people on the basis of party affiliation.
On May 3, very severe cyclonic storm, Fani hit the Odisha coast with wind speed of 200 kilometres per hour affecting about 16.5 million people in over 18000 villages and leaving 64 dead. An estimated 3.6 lakh houses were damaged of which 95% was in Puri, Khorda and Cuttack districts. Officials in the state revenue and disaster management department said the state government received Rs 3114.46 crore from the Centre as compensation for Cyclone Fani, but has spent Rs 3119.21 crore so far.
Puri district collector Balwant Singh said the severely affected blocks have got maximum compensation while other blocks also received compensation as per the survey. “It is not possible to act on complaints of house damage, six months after cyclone Fani. However, if someone files any complaint regarding bogus beneficiaries or one family receiving multiple house-damage assistance, necessary measures would be taken,” he said.