MLAs Ask Ministers To Ease Construction of Indiramma Houses in Forest Areas
MLAs urge Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy to resolve land row
Adilabad: MLAs of erstwhile Adilabad district, cutting across parties, have complained to Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Adilabad in-charge minister Jupally Krishna Rao that forest officials are not allowing construction of a large number of Indiramma houses in their respective assembly constituencies in Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Adilabad, and Nirmal districts.
The MLAs say that officials are disallowing the construction saying the place is located in a reserve forest or in the forest. The ministers had been reviewing the status of the construction of Indiramma houses in the three districts.
MLA Palvai Harish Babu of Sirpur (T) said construction of 200 Indiramma houses has been stalled in his Assembly constituency by forest officials, citing that their locations are in a reserve forest or forest area.
Harish Babu maintained that there is a provision in the Forest Rights Act 2006 that even forest officials can issue ROFR pattas for house sites to the needy. He said the state government could consider issuing ROFR pattas for house sites, so that beneficiaries can construct Indiramma houses on their plots.
MLAs of Khanapur, Asifabad, and Boath assembly Constituencies have been raising the same issue for a long time.
In this regard, minister Srinivas Reddy assured that he will convene a meeting with the principal chief conservator of forests and district forest officers to resolve the issue and speed up construction of the Indiramma houses. He pointed out that additional powers have been given to district collectors as part of decentralisation of administration to speed up construction of Indiramma houses.
The Housing minister instructed collectors and housing officials to work towards providing loans from banks and SHGs to beneficiaries who are unable to start the construction of the basement of their sanctioned Indiramma house due to lack of finances.
Khanapur MLA Vedma Bojju said in his assembly constituency forest officials have obstructed nearly 300 Indiramma houses proposed for beneficiaries belonging to the Kolam community, who are a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG).
Vedma Bojju said some Kolam and Gond beneficiaries had even dismantled their huts, hoping to complete the construction of the Indiramma house in four or five months and enter a new house. Now, these families are taking shelter in their relatives' houses, since forest officials have okayed the construction of their Indiramma houses.
Srinivas Reddy said soon the land disputes between the forest and revenue departments and the beneficiaries will be resolved by taking up joint surveys.
