BJP MLA and former Urban Development Department Minister CP Singh strongly attacked the Hemant government and said that in the four years of the Hemant Soren government, the Rural Development Department has become a den of loot, corruption and scams. Singh was addressing the press conference at BJP state office today.
Singh said that the Rural Development Department works to give impetus to the village development schemes but till now only 47% of the amount has been shown to be spent in the Hemant government.
Singh said that the tender is being held in the Rural Development Department but even after six months the tender has not been opened. This is being done under pressure from JMM-Congress leaders.
He said that Virendra Ram used to be the Chief Engineer of the Rural Development Department from where crores of rupees earned illegally have been found from the Rural Development Department.
He said that under MGNREGA, money has been withdrawn in the name of a deceased person. Even money is being withdrawn from MGNREGA in the name of those who are in jail. Money is being withdrawn by making money on paper.
He said that the pace of Jal Jeevan Mission is quite slow in the rural areas of the state. Out of the total number of 61.77 lakh houses, tap water was supplied only to 45.97 i.e. 28.40 lakh houses. has been achieved, whereas the national average is 70.15.
He said that there are 74 such villages in the entire state where tap water cannot be supplied to even a single house, out of which 22 villages in the Chief Minister's district Sahibganj are the highest. The target is to be achieved by March 2024. The state government has asked for an extension of one year. Not only this, many types of irregularities are increasing in this scheme. In Mahilong and Tati villages of Namkum block of Ranchi, this scheme has reached only on paper in 3331 houses. Similarly, in the tribal dominated village Manika, people are not getting tap water in their houses. It has not been reached but the work in the file has been finalized.
He said that the condition of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Jharkhand is bad. Due to non-availability of sand and negligence of officials, housing is pending in many districts. Bijolia is the dominant PM residence. In Koderma, the money for Birhor's house was taken away by the middleman.
He said that the condition of PMGSY in Jharkhand is very bad and the state government itself reduced the target given by the Center in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana by 119 kilometers. He said that under PM Ujjwala scheme, 35 lakh 27 thousand 135 gas cylinder connections were given in Jharkhand, out of which maximum were given to rural people. He said that under PM Awas Yojana Gramin, houses were given to 15 lakh 84 thousand 185 people.
He said that the Rural Development Department of the Central Government has provided a grant of more than Rs 3900 crore to Jharkhand every year in 2023-24. The Central Government had approved Rs 1718 crore for 21 road projects in Jharkhand under the CRIF scheme in the last five years. However, projects worth Rs 1000 crore till August 2023 are still in the tender process, which clearly shows that there is a delay in action by the Jharkhand state government.