Construct 17 lakh welfare houses in three years, Andhra CM tells officials

Amaravati, Nov 21 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday directed officials to complete the construction of 17 lakh welfare houses in the next three years.

At a review meeting at the Secretariat, the CM noted that three lakh houses were completed and handed over to the beneficiaries.

"Reaffirming his commitment on (to) housing for all, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials of (the) housing department to complete the construction of 17 lakh houses in the coming three years," an official press release.

Calling for speeding up housing activity, the CM observed that massive house warming programmes should be organised every three months, and set a target of five lakh house warming ceremonies by Ugadi festival.

In addition to completing the survey of all eligible housing beneficiaries, Naidu said housing plots should be allotted to them immediately through transparent online transactions.

Likewise, he said additional payments of Rs 50,000 should be made to SC, ST and BC groups and Rs 18,000 to Muslim minorities under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 1.0, requiring the southern state to spend Rs 90 crore more.

According to the chief minister, housing bills to the tune of Rs 920 crore have been pending since the pervious YSRCP government and tasked officials to pursue this issue with the central government for the release of funds.

Further, Naidu instructed officials to ensure that the pending bills of NTR rural housing scheme are released soon, the release added. PTI STH KH