The State government is gearing up to distribute TIDCO (Andhra Pradesh Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited) houses to the beneficiaries in a “phased manner.” The government plans to complete the process in one year.
The process of handing over the possession of the houses to the beneficiaries has already begun in Nellore district.
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana will soon handover the houses to the beneficiaries in West Godavari district.
By June, about 1.5 lakh houses will be distributed across the State, and the remaining will be given away in a phased manner.
As per information, as many as 7 lakh houses had been sanctioned during the previous government’s tenure, and, of them, construction of only 2.62 lakh houses was taken up.
Of these, 1.10 lakh houses are ready for occupation. Slabs have been constructed for about 1 lakh houses. The remaining houses are in different stages of construction.
Dig at Opposition
When contacted, Mr. Satyanarayana said the government had already initiated steps to distribute the houses. The opposition parties were enacting a drama with an eye on claiming credit, he alleged.
In fact, there was a delay in the distribution of houses due to poor planning by the previous TDP government. Infrastructure such as roads, drains, water was not created, he said.
“The YSRCP government is solving the problems one by one. Now, as the opposition parties have come to know that the houses are ready, they want to claim credit,” he said.
According to the TIDCO officials, the houses are being constructed at 162 locations across the State. The houses are being constructed in 300 sft, 365 sft, and 400 sft area, and the cost varies depending upon the category.
A 300-sft house costs ₹8 lakh, and it is being given to the beneficiaries free of cost. In some cases, release of loans by banks is a problem, the officials say.
Andhra Pradesh Urban Citizens Forum (APUCF) State convener Ch. Babu Rao said a “deliberate delay” in handing over the houses was causing hardship to the beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries who had paid ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh four years ago were receiving notices from banks to repay the loan amount, he said. “The government should handover the houses to the poor where there are no legal hurdles,” he added.
