Social Welfare Minister orders inquiry into TIDCO housing irregularities in Visakhapatnam

The Hindu

25-04-2025

Minister for Social Welfare Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy has ordered for constitution of a special committee to conduct an inquiry into the alleged irregularities reported in the TIDCO houses. He made the decision after a number of public elected representatives from the district raised concerns about the irregularities in the construction, sanctioning and registration process of TIDCO houses. They have also pointed out irregularities in preparing the beneficiary lists.
The discussions were held during the District Review Committee (DRC) meeting held at the Collectorate here on Friday.
During the meeting, the Minister said that the officials should cooperate as per government regulations with individuals constructing houses on their own land. He also directed them to take up awareness campaigns and said that those building houses on plots under 100 square yards should not face any obstacles regarding self-certification.
Mr. Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy said that Visakhapatnam has the highest revenue-generating potential in the country, and it offers immense opportunities for development. He said that the efforts should be directed towards long-term solutions and delivering quality services to the public. He said that the government introduced G.O. No. 30 for the regularisation of encroachments in a way that benefits the poor, and stressed the need to further explain its importance and benefits to the public.
Summer action plan
As part of the summer action plan, he said that steps should be taken to provide drinking water to people across the district. He instructed officials to make additional water tanks available, keeping in view the summer conditions.
Defunct streetlights
The Minister called for speedy completion of masterplan roads and other projects within the VMRDA limits. He also reviewed the maintenance of the local reservoirs. When public representatives complained about the defunct streetlights in various parts of the city, the Minister immediately directed officials to conduct an audit and ensure that streetlights are installed wherever necessary.
Visakhapatnam West MLA P.G.V.R. Naidu alias Ganababu raised several key issues, including TIDCO housing construction. He also complained about number of ganja-related groups and urged for immediate action. He also called for the construction of an underpass at Kakaninagar. Responding to this, the VMRDA Commissioner K.S. Viswanathan said works will begin soon.
Pendhurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu expressed concern over the delay in the development works of the Vepagunta–Pinagadi road, stating that the work has been pending for the past eight months. He said that the project should be taken up on a fast-track basis. In response, District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad clarified that the issue has already been brought to the attention of the government and that road construction will soon commence with the assistance from the New Development Bank (NDB).
Zones to be reorganised
During the meeting, Mr. Harendhira Prasad informed the Ministers and other public representatives that the zones within the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits will be reorganised for administrative convenience. He explained that the current zones will be restructured in alignment with the respective Assembly constituencies. He said that steps are being taken to ensure that each constituency will be in one zone. The public representatives responded positively to the proposals.
MP M. Sribharat, Andhra Pradesh TDP president Palla Srinivasa Rao, MLAs Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Vamsikrishna Srinivas, MLCs Botcha Satyanarayana and Varudu Kalyani, and others were present.