How rich sucked funds for BPL homes to renovate their houses.

The Times of India: Ahmedabad: Monday, April 09, 2012.

Had it not been for two farm laborers from Dhank village in Rajkot, one would not have known how funds meant for constructing houses for below-the-poverty-line families are used to renovate houses of rich people. These labourers also found that in many cases, funds had been utilized to construct private houses illegally and even families ineligible under various schemes had been allotted homes.

Bharat Ghughal and Bhanaji Jogel of Dhank village in Upleta taluka were intrigued when some fellow villagers complained that houses meant for them under Indira Awas and Sardar Awas Yojna were being denied to them when plots were available on revenue records. This spurred the duo to file RTI applications with the gram panchyat in June last year to determine the names and addresses of the beneficiaries who had secured houses under the two central schemes.

"We found that funds for 22 houses meant for BPL families in our village were siphoned off to repair houses of some rich people," says Ghughal. "The panchayat's information on the availability of plots for the schemes lacked clarity and houses had been built illegally for APL (above the poverty line) families with the funds. This was criminal. We collected the details and informed the Gujarat vigilance commission."

When the commission received the complaint of harassment from panchyat officials and the application of the duo, it ordered the district superintendent of police, Rajkot (rural) to take action. It also asked the district collector to investigate the matter.

Ghughal and Jogel sent the documents obtained under the RTI Act to the panchayat, rural housing and rural development department in Gandhinagar. "The section officer B B Rathod issued a show-cause notice to the district development office directing a thorough inquiry," says Jogel. "He also wanted more such cases identified in the Rajkot district. This was a partial victory for us. Nearly eight officers, including the taluka development officer, are involved in the scam."