Reported By: Maruthi Anna
Last Updated: May 26, 2023, 18:26 IST
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during an event to release funds under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme, in Kovvur on May 24, 2023. (PTI)
Reviewing the government housing programme, the Chief Minister instructed officials to give special attention on expediting construction for the poor to get their houses at the earliest
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently directed officials to prepare an action plan for constructing houses and handing them over to poor beneficiaries after distributing pattas in Amaravati.
Reviewing the government housing programme, the Chief Minister instructed officials to give special attention on expediting construction for the poor to get their houses at the earliest. “The sooner the houses are constructed and handed over to the poor, the better it would be for their lives,” Reddy said in a release by the state government.
Since 2019, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has provided 30.20 lakh house pattas worth Rs 56,102 crore, significantly higher than the 4.63 lakh house pattas disbursed during the five-year tenure of the previous TDP government.
The state government till now has distributed lands spread across 71,811 acres, which includes government-owned lands, lands acquired, lands pooled, etc. To empower women, the government decided to register the land pattas in the name of women in beneficiary families.
The Housing Department has taken up construction of 21.25 lakh houses with an outlay of Rs 56,734 crore in various phases. Under the first phase of the PMAY-YSR Urban (BLC), the Housing Department began construction of 15.6 lakh houses in December 2020 and expects the construction to be completed by March 2024.
In the second phase, the CM inaugurated the project to construct 3.03 lakh houses in April 2022 in Visakhapatnam, and the houses are expected to be completed by March 2024.
The previous TDP government had managed to complete just 6.03 lakh houses between 2014 and 2019 and spent Rs 8.083 crore (24% of the allotted fund). The YSRCP government has spent Rs 69,057.13 crore, which includes the cost of construction (Rs 12,955.13 crore).
The progress of the current housing project has also been steady, with registrations, geo-tagging and mapping of beneficiaries completed. Out of 18.63 lakh houses, 16.91 lakh houses have been grounded and basements have been provided in 7.87 lakh houses, and 3.11 lakh houses have been completed so far.
The design of the houses is in sync with the National Building Code and every house has a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom-cum-toilet. Each house is being built in an area of 340 square feet.
Despite the financial assistance provided by the central and state governments, some beneficiaries are hard-pressed to contribute to the construction. The state government has come up with several interventions to ease the financial burden, including supplying 100 bags of cement at reduced costs to beneficiaries.
So far, the government has supplied 14.43 lakh metric tonnes of cement worth Rs 711 crore. The government is also providing other construction materials like door and window frames, paints, shutters, electric equipment, steel etc at subsidised costs.
All the tenders have been finalised through reverse tendering and the e-procurement portal. Temporary sheds have been set up at various layouts to provide material and every beneficiary saves Rs 33,000 due to these interventions.
The state government had also developed a bank-linkage programme where every beneficiary is provided with Rs 35,000 bank loan at just 3% interest. So far, 8.92 lakh beneficiaries have been provided with Rs 3,142.24 crore in bank loans.
