Aasare houses unlivable

All the 67 houses built by Seva Bharathi Trust in Papatnal in Hungund, Bagalkot and 149 houses being built by Nirmiti Kendra in Agarakheda in Indi taluk in Bijapur have been rated ‘inferior’. Many have neither drains nor toilets. The 780-odd houses built by the Confederation of Real Estate Dev­e­lopers Association of India (CREDAI) are not up to the mark.

The discouraging details about the under-construction houses for those affected by the flood two years ago in North Karnataka was revealed by Mohammad Mehmood, Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister, in his quality assessment report on the construction work taken up by the government and private agencies in Bijapur and Bagalkot districts under the Aasare Scheme.

According to the report, a copy of which was obtained under the RTI by Deccan Herald, Mehmood has said that the houses built by Cafe Coffee Day were of “very poor quality” and “may have to be rebuilt”. Only 31.11 per cent of the houses built by the agencies in Bagalkot, and 46.56 per cent houses in Bijapur, were of good quality, the report said.

Even the “reputed” builders like the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) and others, including Nirmiti Kendra, Art of Living, Biocon and CREDAI, have built flawed structures where the plinth is on the same level as the road. “The only way out is to dig the roads deeper,” said a government official.

In Bagalkot

In Bagalkot, four government agencies – Nirmiti Kendra, Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd, KHB and Panchayat Raj Engineering Department (PRED), and private agencies – Seva Bharathi, Biocon, CREDAI, Café Coffee Day and Art of Living – took up construction work. Of the total 7,768 houses constructed/under construction in Badami, Hungund and Bag­alkot taluks, only 2,417 houses have been graded ‘good’. Plinths of 2,312 houses built by Seva Bharathi, Biocon, CREDAI, Nirmiti Kendra, KHB and Art of Living in Badami and Hungund taluks, are of the same level as the road. While 1,616 houses have no toilets, 1,958 houses have been graded ‘poor’. Leakages have been recorded in 72 houses built by Seva Bharathi in Kotnalli in Badami taluk, while 411 houses started by Biocon in Mangalagudda and over 450 houses taken up by CREDAI in B N Jalihal, Nelavagi, Cholachagudi have all been graded ‘substandard’.

In Bijapur

In Bijapur, the Public Works Department, KRIDL, PRED, Nirmiti Kendra, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, KHB, Seva Bharathi and Essar Group constructed the houses.

Of the total 4,314 houses constructed/being constructed in Basavanabagewadi, Sindhagi and Indi taluks, only 2,009 houses have been rated as ‘good quality houses’. While 2,056 houses have no toilets.

While 149 houses being built by Nirmiti Kendra in Agarakheda in Indi taluk in Bijapur have been rated as ‘inferior’ (poor quality bricks and construction work), 319 houses built by the same agency in Dassoru, Umaraja and Miragi in Indi have been rated ‘good’.

The 251 houses built by Seva Bharathi in Ukumanala in Basavanabagewadi have been rated ‘OK’. The houses lack power connection and the quality of the sand is poor. Essar Group built 21 houses in Gubbewada in Indi taluk, which have again been graded ‘OK’.