The Kalladimukham Housing Project in Manacaud ward consisting of 318 housing units for the urban poor was inaugurated in 2015, just ahead of the local bodies elections. But for more than a year, the keys were not handed over to the beneficiaries as the work was far from complete. After a long wait, the beneficiaries got their keys at a public function in January this year.
But, it was not until this week that the families began moving in. The delay in getting power connections to the flat had kept away even those who were desperate to shift to the new houses. On Monday, there was a mood of festivity in the housing locality as 10 houses had house-warming ceremonies.
At the store-room, fluorescent lights and fans were being distributed to the residents. Some of them were seen running around to find the person concerned to get power connections to their household.
“We were staying in a rented house till now. We have been waiting to shift here for so long. Last week, we heard that the power connections had finally arrived,” said one of them.
There are others who have braved the searing summer heat and have stayed here for the past two-three months, without power connections.
“Initially, there was no power or water connection. But we moved in as we could not afford to pay the rent any longer at our earlier house,” said another resident.
The 318 housing units here have been constructed in two phases under the project. This includes 105 units for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe families and 213 units for general category families.
The project was implemented by COSTFORD. The project on five acres of land was implemented as part of the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) project, which has now been wound up and merged with the Pradhan Manthri Awaz Yojana (PMAY).
The Corporation had bought the land at ₹4.25 crore, of which ₹2.14 crore was utilising the Special Component Plan (SCP) funds allocated for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe development projects and the rest from the general fund. The five acres of land also houses an old-age home, an anganwadi and a shelter home.
