KAKINADA: With fishing folks objecting to the allocation of a 47 acre area of land at Parolopet, a fishermen locality here, for construction of houses for the poor under Housing For All' scheme, the issue has become controversial.
The fishermen argue that the area belongs to their community where around 17 acres is being uses by them as their burial ground. They alleged that the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) authorities were encroaching on the site including the burial ground to construct houses adding that the fishermen were not being allocated house sites in this proposal.
According to sources, the KMC has decided to construct 10,800 houses under a G+2 set up in three phases. The first phase construction was to be taken up on the officially identified 47 acres of land belonging to AP State Ports where 3,600 houses would come up.
However, port employees have been appealing to the state government to allocate the site for them for housing purpose. The issue is pending with the government.
Meanwhile, the KMC authorities want to acquire land through the Revenue Department for construction of the houses. It is said that the district officials have given the land to the KMC with 'advance possession' to expedite the implementation of the scheme. There are, however, aound 150 families that have constructed temporary houses on the land by the roadside and residing there. Several attempts were made over the last few months to get the houses in the area vacated to start the construction work by the KMC and Revenue.
The fishermen did not accept their initiative. KMC authorities have asked the fishermen to vacate the site on or before October 26. "We welcome the move of constructing houses for poor but we oppose the demolition of existing houses in the area. The 47 acres of site belongs to the fishermen community of which 17 acres is 'fishermen burial' ground. The area has been in possession of the fishermen for past 300 years. Now the authorities are trying to remove the burial ground for construction of houses," said the 12th Division Corporator Tummala Sunitha. She said that the fishermen strongly oppose the levelling of the burial ground for construction of houses.
The KMC City Planner Mr Kalesh said that the Director of Town and Country Planning approved the plan for construction of houses through Andhra Pradesh Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation. The Revenue Department has given advance possession to the KMC for housing purpose. However, sources said that three acres of land has been identified and approved by the DTCP for the purpose of burial ground. The revenue officials have, however, not identified the site for the purpose, he added .
