Beneficiaries in a fix as uncertainty looms over housing projects

Nellore: Many beneficiaries, who have paid huge deposits for affordable houses in the city, are waiting for the allocations. About 35,000 people are in the list who have yet to get sanction of the house constructed by the then government as part of Housing for All scheme.

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress government had announced that they are giving house sites to the eligible poor before Ugadi which is also making the situation complex as many prefer individual sites and houses.

The TDP government had sanctioned around 30,500 houses for Nellore city and around 8,600 houses were completed. Another 20,000 are in various stages of progress. In Janardhan Reddy Colony of Venkateswara Puram, 4,800 houses have been sanctioned in the first phase and 6,600 houses in the second phase. As many as 3,100 houses in Allipuram, 600 houses in Akkacheruvu Padu, and others at Kondlapudi and Kallurupalli are in progress.

The beneficiaries have paid there share as per guidelines of the government for taking possession of the house after completion. They paid amounts ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1 lakh depending plinth area of the house. More than 35,000 people have paid the beneficiary share and have been waiting for the house.

Former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu formally conducted housewarming for 4 lakh houses across the state, including 4,800 houses in Janardhan Reddy Nagar Colony on Feb 10 this year. Formally, they handed over keys of 600 houses to the beneficiaries on the day. But the keys were taken back by the officials in the guise of completing pending works.

Meanwhile, election notification was issued, and the officials and politicos were busy with preparations and the issue of handing over houses to the beneficiaries was totally ignored. After the polls the YSRCP government had come to power and it has not taken up the issue till date.

The Irrigation Minister DR P Anil Kumar Yadav visited the ward recently and there was no specific assurance on how they are going to utilise huge structures on which crores of rupees were spent.

The State government started blaming the opposition TDP for the irregularities in irrigation and housing projects. Now the issue of completing the housing project has been neglected.

It is suspected that the present government may go for reverse tendering in the housing project as the ministers and other leaders have alleged irregularities in municipal projects, including housing.

In such a case, construction works of the pending houses will be delayed. The project cost is around Rs. 2,300 crore and till now Rs. 1,000 crore were spent on the project in a hurry burry planning to finish within elections.

"In case we want to take back the deposit it is not an easy process. Already we were enrolled as beneficiaries in the website of the central government where subsidy part was attached individually. So, we can't get another house anywhere in future. We can neither withdraw out amount nor proceed further," said K Ramanaiah from Podalakur Road area.