Apartments for scavengers in limbo

Tirupati: The Opposition parties, CPM, CPI, and Congress upset the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s grand plan for scavengers multi-stored apartment construction with ultra-modern facilities at Municipal Corporation of Tirupati(MCT). The Tirupati Fourth Additional District Court judge G Ramgopal on Thursday issued stay order on eviction of SC/ST scavenger employees from their colony. The court has taken this case as suo motu on the basis of newspaper reports appeared in various dailies.

Highlights:

• Scavengers raise agitation against the MCT move towards multi-storied apartment construction
• Scavengers apartment construction issue turned into a political controversy
• More than 100 scavenger families are not willing to leave the existing houses

The Municipal Administration department proposed multi-storied apartment construction for municipal scavenger workers families. Due to political parties’ intervention, this issue snowballed into a controversy and threatening the ruling TDP government at temple city. Currently opposition parties continuing their agitations along with scavenger families against MCT actions towards construction of multi-storied apartments.

On Thursday, scavengers have stopped the houses demolition work through JCBs at colony with support of CPM, CPI and Congress leaders.

One year ago, the state government decided to construct multi-storied apartments for scavengers of MCT at Scavengers Colony in the place of existing old houses.

In this connection, Municipal Minister K Narayana came here six months ago and negotiated with scavenger families. He said if they agree to move into multi-storey apartments then the government would provide all modern facilities. Agreeing to this proposal, out of 260 scavenger families, 160 gave their nod in the form of written commitment for new multi-storied apartments with G+11 in the extent of 5.36 acres.

However, few scavenger families raised their objection stating that the municipal authorities should construct the new individual houses with personal bank loans. Similarly, most scavengers’ families belonging to SC/ST community demanded that the government should spend the SC/ST sub-plan funds for their houses construction.

Some scavenger families felt that there is no need to construct multi-storied apartments and shopping complexes with the private builder investment and they questioned as to why we must give our site to builder for apartment construction. In the meantime, more than 160 families convinced by the MCT officials have shifted to new housing colony at Avilala on the outskirts of Tirupati.

As part of commencing the apartment construction works, two days ago MCT officials have moved to start the demolition of old houses by the JCB, this work was stopped by the victim families. For two days, few scavengers’ families and opposition parties’ activists repeatedly obstructing the demolition works at their residing area. Freshly, they have agitated again on Thursday against apartment construction by the Municipal Administration department.

CPM Tirupati city secretary Subramanyam speaking to The Hans India said that the scavengers are against construction of new apartments in the place of old houses. If they have honesty, they should encourage the construction of independent houses in the place of existing houses, he added. Congress district women’s wing leader Sridevi demanded that the MCT officials should stop the demolition works immediately and warned that all the opposition parties would agitate against the government.