A task force headed by the secretary of the Bengal panchayat department has been set up to supervise the verification of eligibility of 11 lakh beneficiaries of the rural housing scheme amid complaints that officials checking the bona fides of the applicants face resistance from villagers across the state.

A fisheries department official was allegedly manhandled when she went to verify the credentials of the PMAY’s prospective beneficiaries in Udang gram panchayat in Amta 1 block of Howrah district on Thursday afternoon.

“The accused was produced in court today (Friday) and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. This was possible as police framed stern charges against the accused. Hope it will send a message that the government is in no mood to allow such activity anywhere in the state,” said a senior official.

The incident came as an embarrassment for the state government which had sent messages to districts that applications for the PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) should be vetted properly to avoid the possibility of the inclusion of ineligible persons in the scheme.

“The state government has already made it clear that nobody will be spared if he/ she prevents teams engaged in the verification from discharging their duties. Despite the message, the way the fisheries department official was assaulted in Howrah is a cause for concern. The task force headed by the secretary of the panchayat department will now supervise the entire drive,” said an official.

The government is firm on verifying the eligibility of all beneficiaries, whose names were put on the list in 2018 for the project, which offers Rs 1.2 lakh each to construct houses in rural areas.

A source said the state was under pressure to carry out the process of verification by December 20.

"If the state is unable to sanction houses to eligible households within the given timeline and release the first installment of assistance immediately, the ministry may consider withdrawing the targets,’’ reads a letter written by the secretary of the ministry of rural development, Nagendran Nath Sinha, on November 24 to the state panchayat secretary while releasing funds worth Rs 8,200 crore under the scheme.

Sources said the state would have to finalise the list of genuine beneficiaries by December 20 and that was why Nabanna was stressing the verification in a time-bound manner.

“The Centre had earlier stopped the release of funds on the pretext that the scheme was renamed in Bengal. The state does not want to face a similar situation again and this is why the government is firm on completing the verification process at the earliest,” said a source.

The verification is also important for the ruling establishment as panchayat polls are ahead in 2023.