Visakhapatnam West MLA P.G.V.R. Naidu (Ganababu), TDP leaders and former Ministers Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy and Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu and BJP leader and former MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju lashed out at the State government for failing to allot the houses built for the poor by the previous government.
Addressing separate media conferences here on Tuesday, they said that the beneficiaries were selected by following the due process. The beneficiaries had also paid the price fixed for the houses. They alleged that the YSR Congress Party government was not interested in handing over the houses constructed by the previous government as the beneficiaries would support the TDP in the next elections. In letters to the Chief Minister and the Minister for Housing and Municipal Administration,Mr. Ganababu noted that the beneficiaries had paid the DDs for the three types of houses available under the scheme. The houses were constructed on government lands by Tata Housing and the allotments were done through a lottery held under the auspices of the GVMC Commissioner.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to allocate the houses free of cost during his election tour. He had even declared that the DD s would be returned to the beneficiaries. But, now the government was saying that the beneficiaries would be selected afresh. This was creating distress among the beneficiaries.
The statements of the GVMC Commissioner were creating unrest among the 40,000 beneficiaries. He demanded that the Chief Minister come out with a proper statement on the issue.
Mr. Satyanarayana Murthy explained that the TDP government had obtained permission for construction of 52,000 houses in the first phase in Visakhapatnam district. As many as 22,000 houses were almost completed barring finishing works like sanitary fittings.
The beneficiaries had paid ₹43 crore to the GVMC. Of this, ₹9 crore was paid by the corporation to the State government and the balance amount was with the corporation. The State government could have completed the remaining houses with the money and allotted them to the beneficiaries. The TDP leader said that he would approach the High Court for justice to the beneficiaries.
Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said it was wrong to cancel the allotments already done. The contractors, who had taken up the works under PMAY, were small contractors and their dues have been pending for 16 months. He appealed to the Chief Minister not to do injustice to the beneficiaries.
Party Parliamentary District president M. Raveendra said it was wrong to cancel the allotments made in the past.