Naidu calls for non-coop over one-time settlement

Amaravati: Former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday gave a call for a 'non-cooperation' against 'forced collections by the state government in the name of unlawful One Time Settlement (OTS) house registration scheme'.

Naidu asserted that the 'Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku Pathakam' (official name of OTS) was in total violation of the spirit of the Constitution. The Constitution advocated empowerment of the poor but the OTS scheme was aimed at cheating the poor beneficiaries of decades-old government housing schemes.

The TDP chief said the non-cooperation movement would begin from Monday itself to mark the 65th death anniversary of Ambedkar. Naidu, earlier, garlanded a photo of Ambedkar at the TDP central office and paid rich tributes.

Addressing a press conference, Naidu said the OTS scheme once again exposed the 'bankruptcy' of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Instead of fulfilling his pre-poll promise of free registrations, the Chief Minister was now using coercive methods to collect OTS amount. The district collectors and mandal level officials were fixing targets for the village and ward secretariats.

Chandrababu Naidu called upon the poor people not to be afraid of the threats about denial of social pensions, no dues certificates, government benefits and revenue services. The poor beneficiaries should take part in the non-cooperation movement.

Naidu said that property registrations would be legal and valid in a court of law only when they would be registered in the registrars' offices. The OTS registrations for lakhs of poor beneficiaries at the level of village secretariat would be totally illegal. Some officials were halting social pensions in this regard, he added.