This housing project is a boon for all

This housing project is a boon for all

• B.V.S. BHASKAR
• Known as cultural capital of Andhra Pradesh, Rajamahendravaram is going to be a model for other Assembly constituencies in the country in providing affordable housing to all urban people without any discrimination between beneficiaries. The Union government’s Housing For All (HFA) scheme is going to be a boon for the people including the elected representatives, officials and implementing authorities like AP Housing Corporation.
  The HFA, though is old wine in new bottle, is aimed at rehabilitation of slum-dwellers with the participation of private developers using land as a resource. “In accordance with the Union government’s guidelines, we have chalked out a detailed action plan to provide 4,200 houses which have already been sanctioned and another 2,500, which, the Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu promised to give in Rajamahendravaram in Phase One,” said MLA Akula Satyanarayana.
  The first-time MLA, who won on a BJP ticket, is an orthopaedician and wants all to have a decent house.
  “We have created a separate section in the Housing Department to sort out applications which are coming on the grievances day. As on today, we have received 40,000 applications. Out of these 10,000 were found to be not eligible and another 15,000 have been found to have either a house or a house site,” said Sub-Collector Vijaya Krishnan.
  When asked how all the remaining would be provided housing, the MLA said that the HFA scheme was totally different from other housing schemes. It was not just for the slum-dwellers, but for others who could afford to build a house. He said that he had done enough home work on this and made a note of all the available sites in the city including those that were allotted for housing long ago but were still vacant. “Group housing, apartments, and satellite cities are part of the project. If the beneficiary is having own plot, he could also affordable to construct his own house with the support of this scheme,” he explained