HC halt to housing scheme shocks YSRC, beneficiaries; TD seen as villain

VIJAYAWADA: The AP High Court ordering the halt of the mega housing scheme came as a blow to the government and the YSR Congress, which put the blame on the Telugu Desam.

The YSRC government planned to complete construction of 30.76 lakh houses before the 2024 elections. Following the court order, YSRC termed the TD as a 'hurdle creator' in the way of its government's developmental and welfare push.

Minister for municipal administration Botsa Satayanarayana said the opposition leaders filed litigation on the land parcels selected for the housing scheme. The TD, he said, was unable to digest the election defeats and trying to defame the government by seeking a halt to the welfare programmes.

He said the government has been implementing the housing scheme as per the guidelines issued by the Centre. The state government has been developing infrastructure along with the construction of houses, he said, and added that Rs1.5 lakh was sanctioned by the Centre for each house and this was also given to the beneficiaries.

While the Centre government has fixed a minimum limit of 220sqft for each house, the state government was constructing houses on plots measuring 270 sq ft. Will the housing projects in other states following the Centre’s guidlines be stopped, he asked.

The minister said the government would file an appeal against the single-judge order.

Analysts said that the ruling party is bound to use this order as a political stick to beat the TD with.

The analysts felt that appointing a committee and its filing of a report would take time and seriously affect the pace of the housing construction. There is no doubt that the YSRC would raise the housing issues as the main agenda in the general election as 30 lakh beneficiaries are being barred from getting free houses. This involved a total of one crore voters, who are bound to turn against the TD, the analysts said.