At least 11 married women in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district have reportedly misused the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme and run away with their lovers.

The scheme provides poor and middle-class families with assistance in building a permanent home.

Reports said the women allegedly took the first installment amount of Rs 40,000 from the government under the PMAY scheme, following which they left their husbands, and ran away with their lovers.

The incident came to light after the husbands whose wives ran away with their lovers launched complaints with the police.

It is said the beneficiaries under the scheme reportedly belong to the Thuthibari, Sheetlapur, Chatia, Ramnagar, Bakul Diha, Khasra, Kishunpur and Medhauli villages.

It is also reported that following the incident the authorities have decided to halt the second instalment payment for the beneficiaries.

Under the scheme, the government a provides a subsidy of up to Rs 2.5 lakh, depending as per the family's income. In case of any discrepancies, authorities can ask for the money back from the beneficiaries.

Reportedly, similar incidents took place last year in Uttar Pradesh when four married women ran away from their homes with their lovers after receiving money under the PMAY scheme. Several reports said the four women had run away as soon as a grant of Rs 50,000 landed in their bank accounts.

This incident came to light when the authorities noticed that the construction work on their houses had not begun. The authorities later sent a notice and ordered the construction work of their house to begin immediately, but received no response and development. Following this, their husbands received a warning from the authorities.