57,000 names to be dropped from Bengal housing scheme beneficiaries list after SIR
At least 57,000 names will be removed from the list of beneficiaries of Awas Yojana because they were already struck off from the electoral rolls during SIR.
The West Bengal housing scheme, Awas Yojana, will see 57,000 names removed from its beneficiaries list due to discrepancies identified during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in 2025, according to state panchayat and rural development minister Dilip Ghosh. Around 9.1 million names were eliminated from the electoral rolls during SIR, of which 57,000 individuals received assistance under Awas Yojana and are now ineligible for the fund.
Ghosh made these remarks at an administrative program at the state secretariat, where chief minister Suvendu Adhikari directly transferred funds to around 1.02 million beneficiaries of the housing scheme. Ghosh further stated that among the three million beneficiaries who had received funds, 12,500 individuals were found to be ineligible due to illegal fund acquisition.
Investigations are underway, and recovery proceedings have commenced against around 1,000 such beneficiaries. The Central government halted fund releases to the state under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in 2022 due to allegations of nepotism and financial irregularities. The previous opposition party, Trinamool Congress, launched a separate scheme, "Banglar Bari," in 2024.
Upon the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ascension to power in May, a survey was carried out to identify and remove fake names from the beneficiaries list. On Thursday, the second installment of ₹60,000 each was handed over to 1,020,370 beneficiaries, with verification continuing for the remaining beneficiaries. The scheme's name was also changed from Banglar Bari to Paschim Banga Awas Yojana.
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