The AP government has amended the CRDA Act to facilitate the allotment of house sites to the poor, creating the R5 Zone.
Published Jul 07, 2023 | 7:42 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 07, 2023 | 7:45 PM
Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (YS Jagan Mohan Reddy/ Facebook)
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday, 6 July, directed the officials concerned to take all possible legal measures to overcome hurdles coming in the way of building houses for the poor in the R5 Zone of the Capital Region Development Area (CRDA).
Chairing a review meeting of the Housing department, the chief minister expressed displeasure over obstacles being created by certain sections of people, aimed at denying houses to the needy.
“Several people are joining together to deny houses for the poor at every step,” Reddy said and instructed officials to expedite construction with a strong resolve, a press release issued by the government said.
The Andhra Pradesh government has amended the CRDA Act to facilitate the allotment of house sites to the poor, creating the R5 Zone and bringing various lands under its jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the officials informed Reddy that Court cases are coming in the way of house construction.
Zoning Regulation 5, which is loosely referred to as the R5 zone, was created by amending the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA)’s master plan. It is to allot land and affordable houses to the poor
The Amaravati farmers had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s directive, which cleared the decks for the government to earmark the R5 zone for housing for the poor.
The decision to appeal was taken after the Farmers’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) consulted legal experts on 6 May.
The Supreme Court on 15 May heard the petition filed by the Amaravati farmers against the R5 zone and decided to transfer the case to the bench of Justice Joseph which was hearing the Amaravati case.
The JAC leaders insist that the distribution of the land in the area in question to poor beneficiaries was not proper as the land — surrendered by them for the state-of-the-art capital promised by the previous TDP government — was meant for setting up industrial and commercial establishments.
The farmers claimed that these were part of the lands that farmers in 29 villages had surrendered to the erstwhile TDP government for the construction of the capital city of Amaravati in return for developed commercial and residential plots.
But the government argued that the lands in question were not part of those given under the land pooling scheme to the then-ruling government.
The YSRC government, in March, issued orders categorising 900.97 acres of land in Krishnayapalem, Nidamarru, Kuragallu, Mandadam and Inavolu as the R5 zone. Along with this, 233.61 acres of land in the S3 zone was also clubbed with the R5 zone.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 5 May, cleared the way for the distribution of house site pattas to the poor in the R5 zone in the capital region of Amaravati.
At the meeting, the chief minister also took stock of AP Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TIDCO) houses and instructed officials to make TIDCO colonies self-reliant as they will house hundreds of houses.
Approving a proposal submitted by the officials, Reddy permitted them to build commercial complexes in TIDCO colonies.
The officials also apprised the chief minister that over 71,452 TIDCO houses have been handed over to beneficiaries, while 29,496 more houses and another 49,604 more will be given in July and August respectively.
They informed the chief minister that bank loans to the tune of ₹2,000 crore have been arranged for the beneficiaries who opted for 365 sq ft and 430 sq ft TIDCO houses, while 300 sq ft houses are being doled out for free.
Under Jagananna Housing colonies, the officials said that 4.2 lakh houses have been constructed, while 5 lakh more would be ready by 1 August.
On housing alone, the southern state has incurred an expenditure of ₹2,201 crore in the current fiscal, the officials informed the chief minister.
Reddy also directed the officials to formulate an action plan to complete constructing houses for the poor in Visakhapatnam before December.
(With PTI inputs)
