Give us 2BHK or face protests: Slum dwellers to government

Hyderabad: Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) held a round table conference at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram (SVK) along with members from 15 various slums across the city to discuss issues being faced by the residents in acquiring houses under the double-bedroom house scheme.

The meeting observed that the promises made during elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to build 1 lakh double bedroom houses for the city poor remained a distant dream.They said only 300 houses had been built so far. Despite thousands of slum dwellers rushing to the Collectorate everyday to file applications for obtaining houses, the government was yet to allot the lands, the participants felt.

They also observed that the government’s pressure on dwellers of various slums to vacate the place in the name of construction created panic among the people. Out of the total of 5,30,000 applicants, who had submitted their applications for the double bedroom housing scheme, only 396 houses have been built so far at IDH colony at Bhoiguda.

While the government cites lack of land to allot for the construction, party members felt that slum dwellers were being cheated in the name of 2BHK houses. CPI(M) city secretary M Srinivas said, “People are not sure how long will it take or how many houses will be provided with. Then, how can the government expect the people to vacate the place.”

He demanded that the government come up with a clear plan after discussing with the local residents and build houses within the city peripherals and not on the outskirts. The CPI(M) would also conduct rallies at vacant places across the city to remind the government of the vacant lands for double bedroom houses construction.