Odisha: Couples declare themselves as ‘divorced’ to avail double FANI assistance

Cuttack: Using different means to become beneficiaries under various government schemes is not new in the country. But, sanctioning double Cyclone FANI assistance to couples in Odisha comes as a surprise.

A big scam was exposed after several couples were enlisted to get FANI assistance from the government to repair their houses.

Nabakishore Mohanty and his wife Anjana Mohanty of Katarapa panchayat under Salipur block in Cuttack district have been living together since years. However, they reportedly declared themselves as divorced in the list to avail financial aid from the government as two separate beneficiaries.

According to reports, Mohanty will be sanctioned Rs 97,200 as FANI assistance as his house was completely destroyed in the cyclone. The government list shows that his wife Anjana will get Rs 95,100 for the same reason.

Not only Mohanty and his spouse, over 10 couples reportedly furnished false data to grab government assistance in the coastal district.

The massive irregularities in FANI assistance fund came to fore after an RTI report.

Based on fake claims, many beneficiaries have received cyclone assistance amount from the authorities.

Reports said that many persons from a family have been entitled to get FANI aid.

Following the RTI report, former Salipur MLA Prakash Behera has made a complaint with the SRC for a probe into the matter.