The West Bengal government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has ordered 12,000 beneficiaries of the Banglar Bari housing assistance scheme to refund the money they received fraudulently by November 30. Addressing reporters at a press conference at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday, the Chief Minister stated that the administration is taking strong measures to prevent the alleged misappropriation of funds that occurred under the previous Trinamool Congress regime.
According to a report from the state secretariat, 57,000 individuals were identified as having applied illegally for assistance under the scheme and have since been delisted. Of these, 12,000 had actually received the funds and are now required to return the amount. The secretariat noted that approximately 1,000 beneficiaries have already refunded the money, while the remaining individuals must comply with the deadline. The government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired judge to examine what the Chief Minister described as institutional corruption, and a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry has also been launched into officials who allegedly facilitated the fraudulent disbursal.
Chief Minister Adhikari criticized the former government for using the rural housing scheme for political purposes. He refuted previous claims that 18-19 lakh people covered under the project would not receive funds if the BJP came to power, stating that the current government does not discriminate based on political affiliation, caste, or community, and has already disbursed money in the first phase.
