Karnataka Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan rejects EWS housing scheme graft charges, seeks probe
Bengaluru, Jun 24 (PTI): Karnataka Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan on Tuesday dismissed allegations of corruption in the allotment of houses under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scheme and called for a thorough probe into the matter.
The minister was responding to claims made by ruling Congress MLA from Aland, B R Patil, who alleged that bribes were being collected from poor families in exchange for houses.
"Is there any instance where money is being taken to allot houses? Let B R Patil tell me who demanded money. We will take action against those who accepted bribes — they won’t be spared," Khan told reporters.
He urged Patil to write to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and formally seek an inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
Clarifying his stance, Khan said he had already ordered a departmental probe.
"As the minister, I’ve directed senior officials to investigate whether such incidents have occurred. So far, no such instance has come to my notice," he said.
Refuting allegations that he personally benefited, Khan said, "I am not in such penury that I need to collect money from the poor. If I have taken money for allotting houses, I deserve to be cursed. Will my family or I gain anything by exploiting the poor? We will perish."
He added that only Panchayats are authorised to select beneficiaries, not MLAs.
"If Panchayat members have taken money, let them be exposed. I haven't come across any complaint of Panchayat officials collecting money from beneficiaries."
According to Khan, all MLAs cutting across party lines had submitted recommendations for house allotments, but the state lacked enough stock to meet every request.
"We’re allotting houses in phases. Patil had asked for around 2,000 houses, but we also have to reallocate homes that were cancelled earlier. We’ve given 950 houses to separate Panchayats."
Addressing Patil's complaint that none of the people he recommended were allotted houses while the Aland Panchayat president allegedly secured 950 homes for his people, Khan reiterated that he had no role in the selection.
The minister criticised the Centre for levying 12 per cent GST on the Rs 1.5 lakh grant provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) for EWS families.
"I requested BJP leaders in Karnataka to get the GST removed on central housing funds, but nothing has happened," he said.
He explained that the total cost of a house under the scheme is Rs 7.5 lakh, with Rs 1.5 lakh each from the Centre and the state. For SC/ST beneficiaries, the central contribution is Rs 2.5 lakh, and the rest is borne by the beneficiary.
Khan further alleged that while the Slum Development Board was supposed to receive Rs 9,500 crore from the Centre — Rs 7,400 crore under various housing schemes and Rs 2,100 crore under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana — only Rs 310 crore was released in the last eight years.
"When I brought this to the Chief Minister's notice, the cabinet approved Rs 500 crore in 2024, enabling us to construct and allocate 36,789 houses," he said.
Khan clarified that Patil had not directly accused him of taking bribes.
"He never said I collected money. His grievance seems to be with the process at the local level," the minister said.
The controversy gave ammunition to the opposition BJP and JD(S), who demanded Khan's resignation and a high-level inquiry.
Adding to the Congress’s discomfort, party MLA Belur Gopal Krishna also joined the chorus demanding Khan’s resignation.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
