Former treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) State unit Pakalapati Sanyasi Raju on Sunday urged the State government to take up the responsibility of constructing houses in Jagananna Colonies instead of asking the beneficiaries to build the houses by themselves.
He said that poor beneficiaries were unable to construct houses due to the lack of basic infrastructure, such as proper roads, water facility and power supply, at some housing sites such as Gunkalam where nearly 13,000 houses were planned in the colony.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Sanyasi Raju said that the colonies would be confined to paper if the government failed to take necessary steps to resolve the grievances of the beneficiaries.
“Even after getting funds from the Union government under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the State government allocates only ₹1.8 lakh for each house. This money is not sufficient to build a house given the skyrocketing prices of cement, steel, bricks and other materials,” he said.
The poor are unable to procure raw material directly at their sites as labourers are seeking higher wages. Now, the construction cost of each house has also gone up to ₹5 lakh. In this backdrop, the government should take over the responsibility of construction,” said Mr. Sanyasi Raju.
He further alleged that the State government was imposing tax burdens on the people in spite of getting huge funds from the Centre.
“The State’s debt burden has risen steeply. Future governments and generations will face several ordeals as the government is not in a position to pay even the interest on its borrowings. The Centre should take necessary action against States which implement unwanted populist schemes,” he said.
