Housing Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday informed that the State Government has decided to weed out intermediaries to make payments to the beneficiaries of housing schemes.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday at the State Secretariat, the minister requested all the eligible beneficiaries to open bank accounts so that the government could directly transfer funds to them online. He said that this move would weed out the intermediaries and corruption from the housing departments.
Stating that the staff of Housing Department would be provided with laptops, mobile phones and internet connections, the minister warned that stern action would be taken against the officails involved in corruption. Further, he said that the government has decided to decentralise the functioning of Andhra Pradesh State Housing Corporation. He said that the District Collectors and Project Directors would be empowered to resolve the complaints of beneficiaries at their level.
The minister said that the Rs 339 crore has been sanctioned for the Indiramma layouts across the State. Further, it has been decided to fill the vacant posts in the Housing Department through the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the several issues pertaining to the Housing Department were reviewed during the meetings held from February 29 to March 31with the MPs, MLAs and other elected representatives and officials.
Regarding Indiramma Housing scheme, the minister said that about 38.84 lakh houses have been completed since the scheme began in 2007. In the last financial year, 5.26 lakh houses have been completed and 10.29 lakh houses were still pending. Of them, nearly six lakh houses were sanctioned during the Rachabanda Phase – I programme. (INN)