Source : Deccan Chronicle Date : 08.07.2009
GHMC sleeping on houses for poor
Hyderabad
July 7: Though the state government had plans to allot over 42,000 flats to the poor before the GHMC polls, the corporation has been able to complete only 17,000 flats. However, of the total 17,000 flats completed, almost 12,000 were allotted before the Assembly elections to beneficiaries mostly from Ranga Reddy district. The remaining 5,000 flats will be allotted to families from Hyderabad by the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, during his city tour beginning on July 13.
The state government had initially wanted to allot these houses before the Assembly elections. The corporation had even received a financial sanction for these flats from Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
Sources said the project was being completed at a snail’s pace due to litigations over the sites selected for building the housing colonies. The corporation has not able to hand over the project sites to the contractors. Due to the delay, the construction cost of each flat increased. While the JNNURM authorities sanctioned Rs 1 lakh per unit, the cost per unit has increased to Rs 2 lakh.
The GHMC engineer-in-chief, Mr Panduranga Rao said that works on the remaining 25,000 flats were yet to begin. “Due to increase in unit cost, we are planning to execute this project under a different scheme. Works will start shortly,” he added.
