VIJAYAWADA: Construction of houses for the poor under ‘Navaratnalu - Pedalandariki Illu’, one of the prestigious schemes of the State government, seems to be going at a snail’s pace. Against the target of 16.84 lakh houses in the first phase of the scheme, construction of around 4.40 lakh houses has only been completed by April.
Ambedkar Konaseema, Parvathipuram Manyam, Palnadu, Bapatla and Anantapur districts are lagging behind in implementing the housing scheme. The government initially planned to complete the first phase of houses by June 2022. However, due to some constraints, the progress of the works did not gain momentum. Against such a backdrop, the government issued directions to the housing department to complete the construction of at least 5 lakh houses by March 2023 so as to organise housewarming ceremonies across the State on Ugadi.
Despite the best efforts of officials to realise the target by motivating beneficiaries of the housing scheme and holding talks with bankers to facilitate the sanction of loans, the target could not be achieved. Now, the officials are planning to realise the target by the end of April.
Stating that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic hampered the progress of the housing scheme, an official told TNIE that they are putting every effort to complete the houses at the earliest. Apart from supplying construction materials to beneficiaries at the housing layouts, the government has also arranged Rs 35,000 loan to them after consulting the bankers to speed up the construction of houses.
Informing that Chittoor, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, West Godavari and Eluru are faring better in implementing the housing scheme, the official said emphasis has been laid on the districts, which are lagging behind, to ensure the realisation of the housing target.
According to the latest data, out of the total 16.84 lakh houses, more than 7 lakh are at the stage of below the basement level and 3 lakh at the basement level. While the construction of 75,000 houses is at the roof level, close to 50,000 houses are expected to be completed soon.