AP State plans to construct 4 lakh houses for poor

Amaravati: AP Government is contemplating to construct 4 lakh new houses under NTR Housing scheme. These are in addition to the already sanctioned and constructed houses in the State.

The four lakh houses will be constructed during 2019-20 financial year. Government aimed to construct at least 25 lakh houses for the poor in the State, based on Smart survey report. Cabinet also approved the proposal recently. 

Out of the four lakh houses, 2,94,000 houses will be constructed in rural Assembly constituencies and semi-urban Assembly segments having more than 50 per cent rural population. Officials identified 147 such Assembly constituencies and each constituency will get around 2,000 houses on an average.

On the other hand, 12 semi-urban Assembly constituencies having more than 50 per cent urban population are also identified under the scheme and each segment will get around 1,000 houses. In addition to that government will construct 94,000 houses under state reserved quota.

Out of the total houses, more than 17 per cent houses will be allotted to Scheduled Castes population and 5.33 per cent of houses will be for Scheduled Tribes population and another 6 per cent houses will be constructed for Minorities.  During 2016-17, state government constructed 1,99,222 houses out of the sanctioned 2 lakh houses. 

Minister for Housing Kalava Srinivasulu said that construction of these four lakh houses under NTR Rural Housing programme would be linked with MGNREGS for the year 2019-20 in advance with unit cost of Rs 2 lakh for SCs and STs category and Rs 1.50 lakhs for other categories.

He further added that the already constructed houses in both urban and rural areas will be given to the beneficiaries in this month. He said that there will be a grand Housewarming celebration, in which Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will participate.

At the same time, the Minister said that if the central government cooperates and provides financial assistance to the state government in construction of houses to the poor, then the target of constructing more than 25 lakh houses will be reached very soon.