VIJAYAWADA: Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad on Tuesday accused the previous YSRCP government of large-scale irregularities in the distribution of housing sites, alleging a scam worth nearly `6,000 crore.
Replying to a query during Question Hour in the Legislative Assembly, he said that during the YSRCP’s tenure, house sites were allotted on unsuitable land such as flood-prone areas, burial grounds and sites far from villages. Many of these lands, he alleged, were purchased at inflated prices.
As a result, nearly 2.5 lakh beneficiaries refused to accept the sites. Out of the 22 lakh plots sanctioned earlier, about 7 lakh conveyance deeds were not issued.
Following inquiries, officials identified 43,948 ineligible beneficiaries, while another 1,11,037 cases are still under review.
The minister said the present coalition government has introduced a new policy under which 3 cents of land will be allotted in rural areas and two cents in urban areas, compared to smaller allocations earlier.
Under the revised scheme, the government received 4,08,876 new applications. Of these, 1,03,494 were approved, 1,41,928 rejected and 1,56,454 remain under scrutiny.
Anagani said the present administration is committed to transparency and fairness, in contrast to what he described as widespread misuse under the previous regime.