Vigilance finds ₹120 crore fraud in Nellore Jagananna housing
A Vigilance inquiry has uncovered serious violations in grounding of Jagananna housing colonies in Nellore district and misuse of funds amounting to ₹120 crore.
Nellore:A Vigilance inquiry has uncovered serious violations in grounding of Jagananna housing colonies in Nellore district and misuse of funds amounting to ₹120 crore.
According to sources, steps are being taken to recover the losses from 300 contractors. Disciplinary action is being initiated against the supervisory staff of the Housing department for turning a blind eye to large-scale irregularities.
The Vigilance probe revealed that contractors and supervisory staff wantonly ignored guidelines meant for construction of houses for the poor. For example, as per regulations, a three-foot wall must be built on all four sides of the basement and filled with sand before the first layer of plastering is applied. However, contractors disregarded this requirement.
Further, a house is considered complete only after plastering, painting and installation of windows and doors. Yet, many houses had been handed over to beneficiaries with poor-quality plastering and painting, while contractors claimed full payments.
A senior official from the housing wing said specified quantities of cement, steel and sand had not been used while building the houses. “Contractors should use 480 kg of steel per house, but they used only 300–350 kg. Additionally, large quantities of cement and steel have been found missing from the department godowns in Kavali and Nellore,” the official disclosed.
He underlined that numerous lapses are evident in execution of the Jagananna housing project, raising serious concerns about accountability and supervision.
