While asserting that the large-scale construction of houses for the weaker sections under the ‘Pedalandariki Illu’ scheme will help improve the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the contribution being made by the Central government to make the project a reality.
He said some colonies being developed were as big as municipalities, and that on completion of the houses, the beneficiaries would become owners of assets each worth ₹4 lakh to ₹10 lakh. Over 71,000 acres of land, valued at roughly ₹25,000 crore, had been acquired for the scheme, the Chief Minister said.
First phase
Participating in a short discussion on the ‘Distribution of house sites - construction of houses’ in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said nearly 31 lakh house sites had been distributed and 15.60 lakh houses would be constructed in the first phase in more than 10,000 Jagananna Colonies.
He mentioned that there were 13,000 gram panchayats, whereas the total number of Jagananna Colonies was 17,000. Approximately, ₹33,000 crore was earmarked for the creation of permanent infrastructure in these colonies. The overall cost of the project was estimated to be ₹55,100 crore.
In order to achieve economies of scale, the government had undertaken centralised procurement of materials. By calling reverse tenders, the government could reduce the prices of steel and 14 other materials. Twenty tons of sand was being given free of cost to each beneficiary, the Chief Minister said.
The housing scheme would create a total of 21.5 crore man-days and 10.60 crore man-days for the skilled workforce.
Dig at TDP
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the TDP had tried its best to obstruct the implementation of the scheme through courts. One such wily attempt to bring the housing scheme to a grinding halt in Visakhapatnam district failed as the government got a favourable verdict from the High Court, he added.
The Chief Minister said he would launch the distribution of 1.80 lakh house site title deeds there next month when the constructions would also begin.
