Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) is racing against time to prepare one-cent layouts for distribution to the homeless in Vizag city starting this Ugadi.
Even though the land pooling exercise is being carried out in 10 mandals in the district for nearly 6,100 acres, officials have identified about 2,867 acres in seven mandals out of the pooled land to develop the housing sites for 1.54 lakh beneficiaries.
About 58,861 beneficiaries will be given one-cent plots in Sabbavaram mandal alone, including Gollapalem village (15,108 plots), Nanginarapadu (11,936), Yerukunaidupalem (3,363), Pydiwada (9,953) and Gangavaram (18,501). Housing sites will be allocated to nearly 38,000 families in Thangudubilli, Gandigundam and Ramavaram villages in Anandapuram mandal.
About 20,187 plots will be provided to the homeless in Mudapaka mandal. Nearly 13,000 housing sites will be developed in various villages of Parawada mandal. Other layouts will come up in Gajuwaka, Anakapalli and Pedagantyada mandal.
Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority estimates that basic infrastructural development works, including jungle clearance, site levelling, total station survey and peg marking with stones for the one cent plots, would cost the exchequer about Rs 57 crore. VMRDA called for tenders for the same two days ago. Civil works at these layouts are expected to begin around March 10 after finalising bidders. Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority metropolitan commissioner P Koteswara Rao said VMRDA engineering officials will prepare a daily report on the ongoing works at various layouts.
“VMRDA officials were asked to work in a coordinated manner to complete the works within the stipulated deadline to facilitate distribution of the housing sites to the poor,” said Koteswara Rao. VMRDA will get nearly 900 acres as its share out of the pooled land in compensation for the development of these one-cent layouts. The farmers (assignees/encroachers) will also be provided developed plots. But the size of the plots will be based on the legitimacy of possession and tenure.
While the development of one-cent layouts is estimated to cost about Rs 2 lakh per acre, expenditure on the layout development towards farmers’ share as well as VMRDA’s share is likely to hover around Rs 50 lakh per acre.