Frustrated by their own folk in flood-hit village

But it has benefited not the villagers, but thieves who have taken away the doors and windows.

What has proved to be a nightmare for the district administration is the fact that every time the Gram Sabha is held, it ends in chaos as more than 75 families have been additionally included in the list of beneficiaries.

The  new claimants cropping up are married women staying in their husbands’ place as also those who have migrated to places like Hubli and Kundagol for jobs. They are returning to the village seeking Aasare houses.

Mullolli village was submerged in the floods in the Bennehalla stream three years ago. Though flooding is an annual affair in Bennehalla, it caused extensive damage in the village that year. The floods had taken a toll on the lives of humans and livestock.

The district administration had prepared a project for relocating the village to a 32-acre land by the side of the Navalgund-Bandiwad road, two km from Hali village.

The ‘Aasare’ houses have been constructed by the Nirmiti Kendra at a cost of Rs seven crore, while the roads and drains have been built under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

District In-charge Minister Jagadish Shettar had inaugurated the houses two months ago. However, as the houses have not been distributed to the beneficiaries, they are yet to be occupied.

The doors and windows of eight of these houses have been stolen.

List ready

The staff of the Yaraguppi Gram Panchayat, under which comes Mullolli village, had prepared a list of 320 beneficiaries of the Aasare houses after a survey prior to coming up with the relocation project.

A 30-member committee of village elders and Panchayat members was formed for allotment of the houses. Though a number of meetings of the committee were held, it has not been possible to come to a consensus on allotting the houses to the beneficiaries.

There are instances of the women showing their voters’ ID cards and their names in the ration cards of their parents’ families to claim houses, on the grounds that they have a share in their parents’ properties. With persistent demands from such claimants, there is chaos and fights in the Gram Sabhas and they remain inconclusive, said Nagaraj Kotagar of the village.

The new entrants in the list are children of influential people and hence, this has delayed distribution of houses to the original beneficiaries, says Kallappa Putrappa, another resident.

Kundagol tahsildar Basavaraj Malavanki told Deccan Herald that it was upto the people of Mullolli themselves to resolve the issue. Else, the houses may become unfit for use.

“We have brought the matter to the notice of district incharge minister Jagadish Shettar.

He has suggested that the new claimants be provided houses under the ‘hutless village’ scheme, the Ashraya scheme and other housing projects. If the villagers come to a consensus on the issue, the houses will be handed over to the Gram Panchayat, which in turn, will distribute the houses to the real beneficiaries,” said Malavanki.