Patna: Just 400 houses had been built till November this year under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural), which aims to build 35.54 lakh houses by 2022.

The slow pace of work has put a question mark on achieving this fiscal's target of building 4.5 lakhs houses by March 2018. Under the housing scheme, beneficiaries are given Rs 1.20 lakh in three instalments to build a pucca house.

The first instalment is released to a beneficiary after due verification and the second and third instalments after assessing progress made on the construction front. The beneficiaries build the house. The Centre and the state bear the cost in 60:40 ratio.

Figures show just 400 houses have been built and the third instalment has been issued to 1,500 families. Not a single house has been built in Bhagalpur, Jehanabad, Kaimur, Katihar, Nalanda, Purnea and Sahara districts.

The first instalment has been provided to over 3 lakh families. Bihar had been given the task of constructing 6.37 lakh houses under PMAY in 2016-17 against which 4.5 lakh beneficiaries were registered for issuance of money after due verification at the ground level.

Amid this slow pace of work, the Centre has released the target for 2017-18.

The process of registering beneficiaries for the current year is likely to begin in a month.

Reached for a comment at the state of affairs in implementation of the scheme, rural development minister Shravan Kumar said: "I am seized of the issue and am undertaking a tour of districts to assess the problem on the ground. In the next few days, I will be visiting Begusarai, Khagaria, Araria and Purnea." The minister said he had been regularly taking lax officials to task and now disciplinary action would follow.

Giving reasons for the delay, Sharvan said he had himself directed field officials to ensure complete transparency in selection of beneficiaries and also proper verification of details before issuing funds.

The minister said problems in availability of sand, too, had hit construction work but he had directed officials to ensure availability to beneficiaries for construction purpose.

"We are hoping to expedite implementation of the scheme in the remaining three months of the current fiscal and figures were set to look much better by then," the minister said.