Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao welcomed the judgment of the High Court in favour of land acquisition by the government for granting housing titles to the poor in Visakhapatnam district. He said that the State government has undertaken a programme to provide housing titles to a total of 1.84 lakh people in Anakapalle, Bheemili, Pendurthi, Visakha (East, North, West & South) and Gajuwaka constituencies in the district. The government will distribute housing plots of 70 yards each on a total extent of 6,116 acres, he said.
Addressing the media at the Circuit House here on Sunday, Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that the State government would be giving houses to about 31 lakh people in the State and fulfill their dream of owning a house. The houses would be provided with all basic amenities like roads, drainages and drinking water supply, he said. The Minister alleged that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu and his partymen were always trying to create hurdles in the implementation of every project but Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy would not shy away from providing the benefits of welfare schemes to the people.
Speaking on the issue of decentralisation of development, Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has introduced the idea of three capitals only to ensure overall development of the State. He recalled that in combined Andhra Pradesh, development and spending of funds were concentrated in Hyderabad, while the remaining areas of the State were not developed up to the mark. The State government was taking steps to ensure the development of all regions. He also sought to know whether Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was supporting or opposing the division of districts.
Refuting the comments of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that the State government was taking the State into a debt trap, the Minister wondered whether the BJP government was not taking debts. The Minister said that the BJP government should not only show love towards the States in the which it was in power, but should also focus on other States as well. He said that the local BJP leaders should impress upon the Centre to fulfill the assurances given to Andhra Pradesh during bifurcation of the State.
