Allotment of the housing units constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has always been a contentious issue with allegations of ineligible getting the houses. Apart from the other issues like shifting from their present habitations, alleged allotment to the ineligible dominated the housing-related issues.
To verify the allegations, the Urban Community Development wing took up a sample survey at Madhurawada. It found that 60 per cent of the houses were locked. It was not clear whether those who had occupied the houses went out for work or rented them out. Of the remaining, in some instead of the allottee, some other names were given by the persons living there. In some cases, the houses were rented out, sources said.
To address the problem, GVMC is toying with the idea of invoking provisions of GORT 185 of the Housing Department issued in 2011 to check the ineligible occupying houses allotted to them under government housing schemes. Under its provisions, the ineligible, popularly known as benami, will be given a 15-day notice for explaining his position. Depending upon its merits, cancellation orders will be issued. While the benamis will have to forfeit the amount paid by them, the next among the eligible have to pay for the house and continue paying the bank loan obtained by the earlier allottee. Either the others living or renting out make those who got the houses ineligible for allotment because it is basically allotted to solve the urban housing problem and reducing slums.
Of the 15,330 houses to be taken up under JNNURM, 14,200 have been constructed and 13,000 allotted. But only 6,000 have been occupied and the sample survey covered some of the houses covered.
There have also been serious problems over allotments made. For instance for the housing completed at Gnanapuram locals are objecting stating that the land there was meant for them and others can not be accommodated there. At Asuvanipalem, a people’s representative sought review of the entire allotment of 90 houses, sources said. At Bhagavandas Colony, two SC sub-castes want the allotment fully to one of them opposing the one made. There are around 1200 houses to be allotted. Earlier some criteria were fixed when J. Syamala Rao was collector. A meeting was to have been held at the Collectorate to deliberate on these issues on Tuesday. However, it was put off.
