The Centre has asked the Odisha government not to use the logo of Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana (BPGY), a state scheme, in the houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), a centrally sponsored scheme.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana aims to provide housing for all by 2022. Formerly known as the Indira Awas Yojana, it was restructured and launched as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) on April 1, 2016. Under the scheme, a beneficiary is entitled to get Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh in hilly areas.

The cost of assistance is shared between the Centre and the state government in the ratio of 90:10 in hilly areas and 60:40 in plain areas.

The BPGY of the Odisha government aims to provide pucca houses to all eligible rural households living in kuccha houses. The scheme logo bears the face of former chief minister and Naveen’s father Biju Patnaik.

In reply to a letter regarding co-branding of PMAY-G houses, Union rural development secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha requested Odisha chief secretary Suresh Mahapatra to use only the official logo of the central scheme. Sinha said the PMAY-G logo was available on the AWAASSoft, an online system used for management of the scheme.

“I wish to reiterate here that the scheme PMAY-G has been approved by the Union cabinet as a centrally sponsored scheme and approved as PMAY-G for the budget in Parliament. The scheme is to be implemented in its original form and under the name of PMAY-G. “The scheme is to be implemented as such and under the agreed funding pattern, and no other name can be appended. In view of the same, and as informed earlier that the ministry had conveyed to the states/UTs (Union Territories) in the past to use the only the official logo of PMAY-G,” Sinha said in the letter.

He pointed out that the contribution of the minimum state share was a commitment by the state government for the implementation of a centrally sponsored scheme but it did not confer the right on the state government to use any logo other than the PMAY-G.

“This will also lead to misinterpretation of the scheme among the PMAY-G beneficiaries about the benefits of the scheme,” Sinha added.

The issue of the logo has been contentious with the ruling Biju Janata Dal government apparently looking to take credit for the central housing scheme which has brought it face to face with the BJP, its main political rival in the state.

In February 2020, panchayati raj and drinking water minister Pratap Jena had told the Assembly that there was nothing wrong in using the BPGY logo on houses constructed under the PMAY-G.

The BJP, however, has been opposing such rebranding of central schemes by the state government and accused it of trying to mislead the people for the sake of political gains.

The BJP has also accused the state government of taking undue credit for providing rice to the poor at Re 1 as the bulk of the subsidy for the scheme came from the Centre.