Ap Housing Corp Draws Flak From Cag

The AP State Housing Corporation has deprived a large chunk of homeless people in rural areas the benefit of a centre-sponsored credit-cum-subsidy scheme (CCSS), according to the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The company claimed the central government share under the CCS scheme, for houses constructed under RPH (rural permanent housing) scheme, which is a 100 per cent state government scheme, deprived the beneficiaries of a subsidy of Rs 17.74 crore received from the central government, the CAG report stated.

The CCS scheme was meant for people whose annual income was between Rs 11000 and Rs 32000 in rural areas not covered by Indira Awas Yojana.

 

The unit cost of each house should not be more than Rs 50,000 (subsidy Rs 10000 and loan Rs 40,000) and the element of subsidy was to be borne by central and state governmentsin the ratio of 3:1.

The central government released Rs 17.44 crore as its share of subsidy for the years 1999-2000 (Rs 7.16 crore) and 2000-01 (Rs 10.58 crore) for against which 13641 and 20150 beneficiaries were expected to be covered.

However, the company did not obtain the list of beneficiaries for the scheme. Instead, 33791 houses already constructed under RPH scheme of the state were accounted for against CCSS houses, the report highlighted.

The corporation has also lost an opportunity to save an interest outgo of Rs 10.31 crore by not availing funds through low cost borrowings, the report pointed. Had the company floated bonds or obtained loans from lending institutions at the current low interest rates and retired the high cost funds which were borrowed at 12 to 16.5 per cent, it could have saved Rs 10.31 crore in 2001-02 alone, the report said.