DIMAPUR— Nagaland State VDB Association (NSVDBA) has stated that the allegation of siphoning off the money meant for the PMAY-G beneficiaries was totally baseless and defamatory in nature.
NSVDBA has clarified that use of cheques to withdraw money in the current system of implementation is prohibited as every transaction is reflected in PFMS, which is regularly monitored by the MoRD. It, therefore, stated that the question of ‘mis-utilisation’ as alleged by the NTPRADAO, apart from being an impossibility, does not even arise.
A NSVDBA press release issued by its president, Tohoshe Awomi, and the joint secretary, Noumvuzolie Sachu, has advised the concerned people to sit with the grassroots to gain clarity instead of blindly accusing the department with half-baked information to create confusion amongst the mass.
It stated that with the introduction of PMAY-G, the module of implementation of the scheme was restructured whereby funds were transferred by generating Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) through Public Fund Management System (PFMS). In this system, fund was transferred to the accounts of the government approved vendors through PFMS for supply of building materials to the beneficiaries, which is inclusive of the transportation cost.
It added that NSVDBA had requested the department to adopt this system of implementation keeping in mind the difficulty faced by the beneficiaries residing in far flung areas in procuring the materials on their own, considering the hostile terrain and the cost of transportation to such remotely located villages. It, therefore, stated that the allegation of ‘no amount was given to the beneficiaries under PMAY-G’ was a delusional statement at best.
It stated that the beneficiaries were given building materials to construct the houses and added that the beneficiaries did not receive money in their accounts should not be translated as money being misused.
In order to give more autonomy to the beneficiaries, it was decided to fully adopt the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode of implementation, whereby funds are transferred directly to the personal bank accounts of the beneficiaries in three installments. It added that the Ministry of Rural Development has approved the DBT mode of implementation and currently, the entitled amount of INR 1,30,000 is directly credited to each beneficiary’s account.
“Such an act of demeaning a department and its officers with baseless and malicious allegations is not expected of an organisation that is not even a month old,” the association said. It wondered if the brand-new organisation was formed to shield some individuals with personal vendetta against the RD department as it was officially formed only on May 31, 2023.
