‘Blocked’ housing projects: Khader asks for report

Minister for Urban Development and Housing U T Khader said that a special drive would be held from September 25 to October 5 for genuine beneficiaries of housing schemes.

The minister told reporters at Circuit House on Sunday that, owing to multiple reasons, the applications of beneficiaries uploaded online had remained ‘blocked’ for many years. The government had opened a window to facilitate regularisation of the locked housing projects under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (RGRHCL) until September 20.

Khader said that there were about 69,000 cases across the state where beneficiaries identified to receive grants and build houses had remained locked. “Gram Panchayat development officers (PDO) should verify the beneficiaries’ houses that were locked due to different reasons in the RGRHCL software. They should also inform the City Corporation officers to unlock it. All details should be uploaded to help beneficiaries receive government grants,” he said.

Accordingly, 18,000 genuine cases had been unlocked. The minister added that more such ‘genuine beneficiaries’ who were unable to upload details should approach PDOs, who will visit the sites for verification and mail the Corporation to unlock the window to upload the details. If a PDO furnishes wrong information, then the officer will be held accountable, Khader warned.

4 lakh houses

The minister declared that the government aimed to construct four lakh houses for the poor in the financial year. “Importance will be given to construction of multi-storeyed buildings comprising ground and 14 floors to provide housing for the urban poor in the state. As per a survey, nearly 40% of the people in the state are residing in towns and cities and the figure is likely to go up in the coming years,” he explained.

All the ULBs have been directed to identify the government land and select housing beneficiaries through Ashraya Committee and submit it to the RGRHCL for approval, he added.

Joint venture

Further, Khader said that the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) has decided to sell layouts developed with private land owners on a 50:50 ratio.

“The Board will take up the work on creating basic amenities in the layouts. Earlier, the share for joint venture was 65:35 or 60:40, which was not viable for land owners,” he said.