Manohar seeks Centre’s probe into housing scam under previous govt

Tenali: Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar has urged the Centre to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged irregularities in the housing programme during the previous YSRCP government, alleging that public money was siphoned off in the name of providing houses to the poor.

Addressing a public meeting at Burripalem in Tenali constituency on Sunday, Manohar alleged that land worth less than Rs 20 lakh an acre was purchased for as much as Rs 1 crore in the name of providing house sites, causing huge losses to the public exchequer. He said the alleged corruption in the housing programme had left poor beneficiaries distressed.

Manohar said the previous government had failed to complete houses sanctioned by the Centre and had diverted funds released for the purpose. Though it claimed to have distributed house-site pattas to 31 lakh poor people, there was no proper account of the beneficiaries, he alleged.

He said land was purchased at inflated prices in the name of providing house sites and alleged that around 90,000 double-bedroom houses were allotted, while nearly 2.5 lakh people were reportedly ready to return the pattas, saying they did not want the houses. He further alleged that house sites were allotted in hill areas and on the outskirts of villages, causing hardship to beneficiaries.

Manohar said the coalition government had taken nearly two-and-a-half years to restore systems weakened during the previous administration and streamline governance. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was still pursuing the Centre for allocation of more houses to Andhra Pradesh, reflecting his commitment to housing for the poor, he said.

He welcomed the commencement of the country’s first 3D-printed housing project at Burripalem. Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar laid the foundation stone for the project. They also performed bhumi puja for the construction of three lakh houses for the poor.

Manohar thanked Union Minister Chandra Sekhar for bringing the 3D-printed housing initiative to his native village of Burripalem and making Tenali the venue for the country’s first such project.

He said villages across the State were witnessing development with the construction of CC and BT roads. With the initiative of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, every village was moving towards a new phase of development, he said. The government was committed to providing roads to every village and safe drinking water through tap connections to every household under the Palle Panduga programme, Manohar said, adding that the initiative reflected the coalition government’s focus on rural development and improved governance.

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