The Mamata Banerjee government has asked district authorities to again carry out verification drives in areas where fewer than 15 per cent names have been deleted from the list of beneficiaries of the central rural housing scheme.

The move indicates the state is serious about deleting ineligible beneficiaries’ names from the list to avert questions from the Centre.

“Chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi held a video conference with district magistrates on Tuesday evening where he said the survey to verify the eligibility of beneficiaries has to be carried out once again in areas where fewer than 15 per cent of beneficiaries are out of the list,” said a senior government official.

Sources in the state administration said the chief secretary’s instruction was significant in the background of reports of survey teams facing threats from villagers and panchayat functionaries during verification.

“It is possible that survey teams could not verify the eligibility of beneficiaries properly and submitted reports without proper probe amid pressure. The deletion figure of less that 15 per cent is surprising as most districts reported 20 to 25 per cent deletion,” said a bureaucrat.

According to reports with Nabanna, South 24-Parganas, Murshidabad, North 24-Parganas, Malda, East Burdwan, East Midnapore and Hooghly have the most number of gram panchayats where less than 15 per cent of names were deleted.

“There are panchayats with less than 15 per cent deletion in all districts. But the focus is on these areas as they house maximum number of panchayats where the deletion rate is less than 15 per cent. Trinamul enjoys a complete hegemony in most of these districts,” said a source.

The state is apparently very serious about preparing a list with minimum flaws as the Centre has made it clear that if funds are allotted to ineligible persons, fresh funds may not be released.

“Making a flawless list is also important because reports are being published that names of several ineligible persons have figured on the list of beneficiaries. There are gram panchayats where 40 per cent names were deleted from the list. A fair list of beneficiaries will also help the ruling party in rural polls,” said an official.

Sources also said the chief secretary told district magistrates that stern actions should be taken against all those who were hampering verifications.

BJP leader arrested

Subhash Sarkar, a BJP leader who had on Monday allegedly hurled chairs at the block development officer of Balurghat in South Dinajpur over a thwarted no-confidence motion, was arrested on Wednesday.

Sarkar was nabbed from Jalajog More of Balurghat.

Sarkar was produced in a court in Balurghat. He was sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

Kousik Sen