31 Tribal Families Receive Long-Awaited Homes In Pidathapoluru

TIRUPATI: Tribal families in Pidathapoluru of Muthukur mandal in Nellore district finally entered their long-awaited new homes on Friday, as 31 completed houses were handed over after years of stalled construction and incomplete works.

Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy participated in the house-warming ceremonies, interacted with the beneficiaries and presented clothes to newly settled couples. Speaking on the occasion, he said the housing programme regained momentum only after the coalition government assumed office, as the previous YSRC regime had left the constructions half-finished. “There was no flooring, no plastering, no doors or windows, yet Rs 1.80 lakh was drawn for each house,” he alleged.

Of the 62 sanctioned houses in the colony, 31 have now been completed. Somireddy said the earlier allocation of ₹55.80 lakh for these houses was increased to Rs 79.05 lakh by the present government. He explained that support for tribal beneficiaries has now been raised to Rs 2.55 lakh per house, including ₹1.80 lakh from the Centre and Rs 75,000 from the State. Assistance for SC, BC and minority families has been revised to Rs 2.30 lakh.

Somireddy criticised the previous government for reducing the State contribution by Rs 50,000 and failing to spend any amount between 2019 and 2024. He also pointed to major quality lapses in earlier works, including low roof levels, weak basements and poor cement usage. He said complaints had been filed against a contractor in Varigonda for substandard construction and insisted that proper reconstruction was mandatory.