Anantapur: Government urged to distribute already completed houses to beneficiaries

Anantapur: The state government has issued modified guidelines for the distribution of 25 lakh house sites to the poor in urban and rural areas under Navaratnalu - Pedalandariki Illu (houses for all the poor) programme as per the directions of the High Court, on Tuesday.

Local people are demanding the government that, if necessary, to make changes in the beneficiaries list prepared by the then TDP government under the NTR Housing Scheme in 2016. The scheme comes under PMAY and 90 percent construction work for these houses has been completed in Pamidi, Gooty and other places in the District.

The work came to halt in Feb 2019 due to election code. Pending Bills were not cleared, cement bags, tiles, gravel and other building materials were left at the sites. The state government has taken money from the beneficiaries, but there is no progress for the past 20 months. Government is not interested to complete the work as most of the beneficiaries are TDP sympathisers, it is suspected. The people are demanding not to abandon the houses most of which are in final stages.

Now the local authorities have procured land in Cheruvu poramboku, vanka poramboku, on the banks of canals. These lands procured are not suitable for construction. At least 10 to 15 feet has to be dug for laying foundation, which is not affordable by low income groups. The Government instead of indulging in a futile exercise by undertaking fresh construction of houses, must use the houses already built in Pamidi, Gooty and other places. It can re-allot the houses to genuine beneficiaries if the present government thinks that the beneficiaries of the houses were TDP party workers.

The YSR Congress government launched ambitious ''Pedalandariki Illu'' programme, under which it was earlier planned to distribute 26.6 lakh house sites. It is aimed to distribute house sites on July 8 to mark YSR's birth anniversary.