Pandemonium in Bihar House over Indira Awas Yojna fund reduction

PATNA: Bihar legislative assembly today witnessed pandemonium following acrimonious exchanges between ruling and opposition benches on the Centre's cutting down of funds under Indira Awas Yojna for the poor.

When persuasion to restore normalcy failed, Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary adjourned the House till 2 PM.

Replying to a short notice question of RJD Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Rural Development minister Shrawan Kumar said that the Centre had reduced allocation under Indira Awas Yojna by 54 per cent in 2014-15 as compared to 2013-14 hampering the programme of providing home to poor in the state.

Kumar said the Centre reduced the allocation by changing the criteria in 2011 census whereby damaged homes were not included and only shortage of homes was recognised as the criteria for providing Indira Awas to poor.

While the minister was blaming the Centre, leader of opposition Nand Kishore Yadav intervened and said the criteria was changed in 2011 when Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre and reduction in allocation was also of the same period.

The opposition leader said BJP-led NDA government has no role in the crisis and sought to know from the government why Chief Minister Nitish kumar did not raise the issue before Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he met him twice recently.

"You break bread with PM but do not raise the issue of home for poor," the opposition leader said making a scathing attack on the CM, who was not present in the House at the time.

RJD joined JD(U) members in blaming the Union government. Rival parties raised slogans accusing each other. The Rural Development minister said due to paucity of fund, 12.87 lakh homes under Indira Awas Yojna were incomplete.

He said several missives have been sent to the Centre for fund under the programme but it remained unfulfilled.

The minister agreed to suggestion from RJD and Congress to send an all party delegation to the Union government for raising allocation for Indira Awas.

Later, the leader of the opposition told reporters in his chamber that JD(U) was indulging in politics over the issue by "unnecessarily" blaming the Narendra Modi government which has no role in changing criteria for allocation of fund under Indira Awas.

"JD(U) has made friendship with Congress whose government actually tweaked the criteria and curtailed allocation of fund to Bihar under Indira Awas Yojna," Yadav said.

He said the Narendra Modi government in fact has announced home to every poor by 2022.