Empty nests lure crooks
Over 5,000 JNNURM houses vacant turn dens of vice
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-11-05 06:32 GMT
Vijayawada: Months after they were built, over 5,000 houses built under the JNNURM scheme in the city remain unoccupied. These houses need to be allotted to beneficiaries by the officials, who remain unmoved by the pleas of the homeless.Meanwhile, these empty houses are becoming home to illegal activities, and causing great inconvenience to people of the neighbourhood.
A number of projects were introduced in the city under the JNNURM scheme, slum infrastructure and housing among them. As many as 28,152 houses were sanctioned under the scheme with an outlay of Rs1,060 crore. The VMC received Rs650 crore from the Centre and started construction of 18,176 houses, completing 13,952. However, only 8,767 houses were allotted to beneficiaries at Jakkampudi and Gangireddula Dibba layouts.
Of the constructed houses, 5,185 are still vacant and waiting for occupation. T. Samba Murthy, a resident of Jakkampudi Colony said, “The corporation should respond to the pleas of the people and allot the already constructed houses. Women and girls in the areas fear to walk past these unoccupied buildings at night time. They are becoming shelter zones for some unsavoury characters who use them for illegal activities.”
Vijayawada deputy mayor Gogula Venkata Ramana Rao said, “There is a committee for allotment of the houses. We asked the officials to create a list of beneficiaries whose dwellings were demolished for various reasons by the corporation. The committee will select the eligible persons and allot houses soon.” Meanwhile, the houses constructed with public money, were being damaged due to the illegal activities taking place in them. They need to undergo several repairs before they are handed over to the beneficiaries.