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It has been reported that multiple beneficiaries of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) standalone home scheme are falling victim to fraud committed by local middlemen, who are taking advantage of the scheme to extort money from unsuspecting applicants. The scheme is designed to provide financial aid of Rs 5 lakh to economically weaker sections of society, with an annual income of less than Rs 3 lakh, to build their own homes.
To be eligible for the programme, applicants must have their own site, which should not exceed 600 sq ft. This year alone, around 5,000 people have applied for the scheme, according to the BBMP. However, it appears that in some cases, middlemen are using the scheme to fleece people by offering to enrol them in the programme, but then siphoning off their money. Two such complaints have been filed with the BBMP, and beneficiaries are reportedly struggling to recover the money taken by the middlemen.
One of the beneficiaries, Arun Prasad, was approached by a local leader who claimed to be a broker in 2020. The broker told him that he was eligible for the scheme and asked for his Aadhaar, income certificate, voter ID, and ownership papers. Prasad said that the broker then asked him to hand over the documents to a contractor, who began work on the house. Prasad paid the contractor Rs 1.5 lakh and the broker Rs 50,000, but as time passed, he became increasingly frustrated as he had not received the money he was promised.
The contractor stopped working, and even after two years, Prasad had not received the cash, so he ultimately had to take out a loan to complete the work. He later found out that the money had already been credited to his account by the BBMP but had been siphoned off by the middleman, who had created a bank account in his name. Prasad is now paying Rs 12,000 per month to clear his loan, even though his monthly earnings are only Rs 20,000.
Muniswami P, another beneficiary, was also duped in a similar fashion. He is from Kaval Byrasandra and was only paid Rs 1.5 lakh, while the rest of the money was taken by a broker. He has not yet built his home and has approached the BBMP to resolve the issue.
According to Madi Arasan, the city president of the Ambedkar Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, he knows of at least 20 similar cases, but many people are reluctant to file a complaint as the local brokers are powerful and often send goons to intimidate the victims.
A BBMP assistant executive engineer-level officer has confirmed that he has seen the complaints and is working to identify what went wrong. He has stated that in both cases, the money was paid but did not reach the intended beneficiary.
This kind of fraud is unfortunately all too common in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries, where people often lack the knowledge and resources to protect themselves from unscrupulous middlemen and brokers. It is essential that the BBMP takes swift action to address this issue and protect vulnerable beneficiaries from these fraudulent activities. The authorities must also take steps to raise awareness about this kind of fraud and provide resources to help people protect themselves from unscrupulous middlemen.
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