Vishakhapatanam: Rumours are afloat that realtors are buying individual houses allotted to the poor under YSR Housing Scheme and Jagananna Colonies, which are being implemented by AP Housing Corporation. This is more so on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam where the land cost in the private sector has been appreciating every six months.
Sources close to the scheme told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday that around 30 to 40 houses were sold away to realtors, who acquired them at throwaway prices. They can make a fast buck by selling them after the title dispute is resolved in courts.
Sales have been reported in Vellanki, Anandapuram mandal, close to the National Highway, about 34 km from the city and in Krishnapuram in Padmanabham mandal.
“The transaction is based on trust and a written agreement on a stamp paper between the realtor and the beneficiary, which is in the form of a loan. Each house was sold for Rs 7 lakh in Vellanki and Rs 5 lakh in Krishnapuram,’’ sources said.
They said that the land cost in Vellanki is around Rs 15,000 per square yard and in layouts Rs 20,000 per square yard.
Minister for housing Ch Sri Ranganatha Raju, who laid foundation stone for a colony in Sontyam in Anandapuram mandal on August 18, said he found the rates of private layouts close to the Jagananna Housing Colonies were high and also increasing regularly.
“But I have not received any reports so far about beneficiaries selling off their dwellings to realtors. We will devise a mechanism to prevent such transactions,’’ the minister told this correspondent on Thursday. He said it was quite common for beneficiaries to sell their allotted houses and ask for another one on the eve of elections.
Minister for tourism Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said that no such trading was going on in his constituency.
The chairman of Vizag chapter of CREDAI B Srinivasa Rao said there were rumors in the Association about transactions between the real estate agents and housing colony beneficiaries.
“These kinds of transactions are not unusual and we can do little to prevent them,’’ Srinivasa Rao told this correspondent. He also added that realtors were developing low-cost housing in Anandapuram and Bhimili.
Each beneficiary is given a 430 sq ft house in a rural area and 365 sft in urban area. The beneficiary of a 365 sq ft house has to pay Rs 50,000 as his share, while those getting 430 sq ft house have to shell down Rs 1 lakh. But the government has also announced a 50 percent subsidy for them.
The sources said that by paying Rs 25,000, the beneficiary gets Rs 7 lakh from the realtor. Going by the present rates, each house will cost Rs 15 lakh in the private market in that area.
Around 403 units are being developed in Vellanki and 250 in Krishnapuram.
