CAG Report Uncovers Flaws in Bihar's PMAY-G Implementation

The CAG report highlights significant irregularities in Bihar's implementation of the PMAY-G scheme. Issues include sanctioning houses to ineligible minors and incorrect geo-tagging of houses. The audit revealed payments made to minors were unjustified and instances of houses geo-tagged far from actual locations.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India's recent report has identified critical lapses in the execution of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in Bihar. The findings, presented in the state Assembly, spotlighted unauthorized house sanctions and geolocation inaccuracies.

Specifically, the audit uncovered cases where houses were sanctioned to minors, bypassing eligibility norms. The government had, in 2017, asserted minors could only receive such benefits under strict conditions, seemingly overlooked in four cases where payments of Rs 2.50 lakh were improperly disbursed to ineligible beneficiaries.

Furthermore, the report denoted alarming discrepancies in geo-tagging, with houses erroneously tagged at locations significantly distant from their actual sites, including instances reaching as far as Delhi and Jharkhand. The PMAY-G, designed to aid rural poor, aims to replace kutcha houses with pucca homes.

(With inputs from agencies.)