YADADRI-BHUVANAGIRI: The villagers of Vasalamarri in Turkapally Mandal in the district find themselves in a dilemma as they are not getting permission to build their houses. This piquant situation has arisen as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced in August 2021 that he would be adopting the village. Rao also promised 2 BHK houses on a plot of 200 sq yd for all the residents. He had also announced that a drainage system and roads would be built.
Following this announcement by the CM himself, higher authorities issued orders to the village secretary not to give permission to the villagers to construct houses. With the promise of the CM remaining unfulfilled even after more than a year, several villagers, who had planned to construct new houses as their old ones are crumbling, find themselves in a cleft stick.
The sarpanch of Vasalamarri and the ward members of the gram panchayat are facing immense pressure from the villagers to clear their applications for permission. They are planning to meet the district collector and the local MLA on Monday with a demand: “Build or permit us to build our houses”.
While the tiles of some houses have broken, the walls of others are collapsing, giving the villagers sleepless nights as they fear that the structures could come crashing down at any moment. Unable to bear the pressure from the villagers, Vasalamarri sarpanch P Anjaneyulu on November 22 met Yadadri collector Pamela Satpathi and Alair MLA G Sunitha and explained the situation. But there has been no response till now.
Speaking to TNIE, a resident of the village, N Anjamma, said: “I hoped for a 2BHK house to come up in place of my hut. But my dream is yet to come true. Recently, due to rain, water leaked from the roof. We can’t stay in the hut any longer. The gram panchayat officials are not giving permission to build a house on our own plot. Most of the old houses in the village are in the same condition.”
Anjaneyulu told TNIE that the total population of Vasalamarri was 2,500 and there were 550 houses. “The CM has promised to build 2 BHK houses for each family, but the government has not taken any steps towards fulfilling its commitment though more than a year has passed. The CM even promised to use the 10-acre land near the village if enough land was not available to build houses for all in Vasalamarri,” said Anjaneyulu and added that they would meet the Collector and the MLA on Monday to find a quick solution to the problem. According to the villagers, the CM and officials came to Vasalamarri four times, but nothing happened till now.