UP: 11 married women take money from Centre’s Awas Yojana, run away with lovers

Several women from Uttar Pradesh reportedly misused the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme, which provides poor and middle-class families with assistance in building a permanent home.

According to media reports, as many as 11 women hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district allegedly took the first instalment amount of ₹40,000 from the government under the PMAY scheme, left their husbands, and ran away with their lovers. The incident came to light after the husbands whose wives ran away with their lovers reported the incident to the police.

Around 2,350 beneficiaries received the money under the PMAY scheme in the Maharajganj district recently, reported News18. The beneficiaries reportedly belong to the Thuthibari, Sheetlapur, Chatia, Ramnagar, Bakul Diha, Khasra, Kishunpur and Medhauli villages.

Some media reports also claimed that following this incident, officials have decided to halt the second instalment payment for the beneficiaries.

Under the PMAY scheme, poor and middle-class families receive assistance from the government to build a permanent home. The government also provides a subsidy of up to ₹2.5 lakh, depending as per the family’s income. In case of any discrepancies, authorities can ask for the money back from the beneficiaries.

Similar incidents took place last year in Uttar Pradesh when four married women ran away from their homes with their lovers after receiving money under the PMAY scheme. Reportedly, the four women ran away as soon as a grant of ₹50,000 landed in their bank accounts.

This incident came to light when the authorities noticed that the construction work on their houses had not begun. Officials also sent a notice and ordered the construction work of their house to begin immediately, but received no response and development. Following this, their husbands received a warning from the District Urban Development Agency (DUDA).