West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has mounted a sharp political and administrative offensive over alleged large-scale corruption in the state’s rural housing scheme during the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime, issuing a final ultimatum to ineligible recipients and ordering a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into tens of thousands of suspected ghost beneficiaries. Speaking from the Nabanna Sabhaghar at the state secretariat in Howrah-Kolkata on Friday, November 13, 2026, during an official ceremony to disburse the second installment of the Chief Minister’s Rural Housing Scheme, Adhikari set a strict deadline of November 30, 2026, for ineligible beneficiaries to refund government funds or face stern legal consequences. Across rural districts from Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, and Purulia to North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Malda, and Cooch Behar, the announcement signals a decisive crackdown on welfare leakages alongside direct financial support for verified poor households.

November 30 Ultimatum for 11,000 Remaining Ineligible Recipients

Addressing district magistrates, panchayat officials, and beneficiaries gathered at Nabanna and connected virtually across blocks, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari revealed that statewide field verification had uncovered 12,000 ineligible individuals who wrongfully pocketed housing assistance under the previous administration’s Banglar Bari rollout. Out of those 12,000 identified recipients, 1,000 people have voluntarily returned the money to the state exchequer following administrative notices, leaving 11,000 ineligible recipients who are still holding onto public funds.

Issuing an unambiguous final warning, the Chief Minister stated that the remaining 11,000 beneficiaries must deposit the refunded sum back to the government on or before November 30, 2026. He cautioned that anyone failing to comply within the stipulated window will not be permitted to retain taxpayer money and will face stringent legal recovery proceedings.

CID Special Investigation Team (SIT) to Probe 57,000 Fake Beneficiaries

Beyond individuals who improperly claimed funds despite owning concrete houses or failing eligibility norms, Adhikari flagged an even graver anomaly uncovered during scrutiny by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal and rural development teams: approximately 57,000 suspected fictitious ("fake") beneficiaries whose names were inserted into the housing beneficiary database. During physical ground checks, field teams found that many of these listed individuals either did not exist at the recorded addresses or had bank accounts opened in the names of deceased or relocated persons to siphon off funds.

To unravel the full financial trail, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government will constitute a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CID to investigate the entire irregularity. He directed investigators to trace exactly how government assistance was credited into those 57,000 bank accounts and identify which block-level and panchayat officials recommended, verified, and cleared those names. Adhikari made it clear that if the CID investigation establishes collusion or suspicious conduct by any government employee or official, both departmental proceedings and criminal prosecution will follow without exception.

₹4,201 Crore Released as Second Installment to 7 Lakh Verified Families

Even as he ordered strict action against past irregularities, the Chief Minister underlined his government’s commitment to delivering transparent housing aid to genuine rural families. At Friday’s Nabanna event, Adhikari digitally released ₹4,201 crore as the second installment of financial assistance—providing ₹60,000 each directly into the bank accounts of approximately 7 lakh verified beneficiaries whose homes have reached lintel-level construction.

Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Dilip Ghosh noted at the event that with Friday’s transfer, the state government has cumulatively disbursed ₹10,323 crore during the current phase toward second installments for roughly 17.21 lakh eligible beneficiaries, with 1.74 lakh homes already completed and the remainder targeted for completion by March 2027. By pairing direct benefit transfers for deserving households with a November 30 recovery deadline and a CID SIT probe into 57,000 suspicious entries, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has placed welfare accountability squarely at the forefront of West Bengal’s governance agenda.