Housing for Poor Should Not Turn Into Slums: Andhra Pradesh CM

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy met with the newly appointed joint collectors (housing) and instructed them that the "Pedalandariki Illu" (houses for all the poor) scheme should not turn out to be slums. As many as 28 lakh houses are being constructed in 17,000 layouts, where some of the layouts are expected to be as large as municipalities. According to Reddy, Andhra Pradesh is expending over Rs 84,000 crore, out of which Rs 34,000 crore alone is for infrastructure. Reddy told the joint collectors that the housing scheme is a massive project taken up by the state government like never before by any government or state. "Focus on providing house sites to all the eligible people within 90 days of applying on a saturation basis by maintaining complete transparency and zero corruption," he directed the young Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers tasked to make this scheme a success. Reddy noted that situations like only 10 of the 100 eligible applicants getting benefited should not arise and entrusted the joint collectors with the responsibility of constructing houses for all the people receiving housing sites. "The government is very much determined to provide welfare to every eligible person on a saturation basis and thus with the help of village secretariats and volunteers we are able to take governance to the doorstep of the beneficiary," he observed. Reddy directed the officials to maintain transparency and ensure quality in every work, without resorting to any corruption.