Amaravati: Minister Kurasala Kannababu says 15 lakh houses will be built in one year

Amaravati: The State government aimed to complete construction of 15 lakh houses in the current year starting from August 26, said Minister for Agriculture Kurasala Kannababu.

Reverting back to the allegations of Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu over State government acquiring lands as per Land Acquisition Act and taking commissions for allocating house sites, Kannababu stated that the State government was acquiring lands as per the guidelines of the Act, which allows paying an excess amount of three per cent and clarified that the government was indeed providing more house sites than the number promised.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Kannababu said that the Opposition leaders were unnecessarily creating controversies over the State government's housing project and confusing the people. "Today, TDP leaders are alleging that the State government has acquired lands at an increased price by paying Rs 45 lakh per acre, but during TDP tenure, at the same place Rs 49.27 Lakh per acre has been paid. Similarly, for the TIDCO housing project in Dhavaleswaram, 24 acres have been acquired by paying Rs 64 lakh per acre. Since the farmers are giving up their lands for a cause, we have to be generous towards them and we followed the rules as per the relevant Act and paid at a normal rate."

The Minister further said that Chandrababu Naidu has provided only 7.5 lakh houses during his five-year tenure and handed it over to the beneficiaries. The TDP government had also left payment of Rs 4,300 crore dues pending to the Housing Corporation and TIDCO, he said.

"Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked the officials to ensure that every eligible person is benefited from the initiative and thus aimed to build 30 lakh houses in the next 2-3 years, finishing at a pace of 15 lakh houses every year. For this initiative, the government decided to use 25,842 acres of government land and acquire 16,078 acres of private lands. At least from now on the Opposition leaders should avoid such cheap remarks against the government, as people are not going to trust them anymore."