Speaking at a progress review meeting held at the deputy commissioner office here on Sunday, he said houses would be constructed to tribals living in all the 148 settlement in the district. The officials under the guidance of deputy commissioner should make necessary preparations, he said. The Karnataka Housing Board has decided to construct one thousand houses in Chamarajanagar. Around 500 acres of land is required for the construction of houses. In the first phase, 250 houses would be constructed at Hanur and it is the responsibility of the district administration to provide land for the same, he added.
The land acquiring process has begun in Gundlupet, he said and added that agricultural land should be spared and only barren land considered for the scheme. The houses would be similar to the ones constructed in Bangalore, he said.
Deputy commissioner K Amaranarayan said the minister’s assurance on constructing houses for slum dwellers during his first visit to the district has given new hopes to the people. The called upon the officials to gear up to acquire non-agricultural land for the purpose.
Holiday
The officials were seen patiently waiting at the DC’s office premises to welcome minister Somanna on his maiden visit to the district from morning though it was a holiday on Sunday.
The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held at 10 am. But, the minister, who arrived in Chamarajanagar had directly gone to attend the inauguration of a private hotel and attended the meeting only at 2.20 pm and spoke only for 40 minutes.
The minister said he was not aware that it was a Sunday and promised to hold a review meeting during his next visit after 15 days. He also promised to stay here for three days and boarded a car to Sakleshpur.
