Hyderabad: Revenue and housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Sunday said that the Congress govt will provide house sites, Indiramma houses, and other rehabilitation facilities to poor families displaced by the recent demolition of illegal houses on Velugumatla Bhoodan lands in Khammam urban mandal.The minister held a meeting with the displaced families and later addressed a media conference alongside them, district collector Anudeep Durishetty, and police commissioner Sunil Dutt at the Khammam district collectorate.Ponguleti assured that every deserving poor person would have an Indiramma house sanctioned before March 15, and that house sites would also be provided for the construction of these houses.“We have information that some private individuals collected money from people and sold plots on govt land. The victims should provide details to the police and officials. This is the people’s Indiramma govt, under which injustice will not be done to the poor. The govt will attempt to recover that money and return it to those who were deceived by vested interests,” Ponguleti said.He criticised the opposition for attempting to exploit the Velugumatla issue for political gain.“But the Congress govt is pro-poor. Why should innocent families suffer because of cheating by vested interests? They built houses on Bhoodan land under the impression that they had obtained legitimate titles,” the minister said.He also announced that a thorough investigation would be conducted to determine how long the families had lived on the Velugumatla Bhoodan lands, their financial circumstances, and assured that justice would be delivered to the poor. “It has come to our attention that some govt employees and individuals who already received Indiramma houses are involved. Apart from such cases, all other eligible poor will be provided houses in the surrounding areas of Khammam town and in the victims’ respective localities, with Indiramma houses sanctioned accordingly,” the minister added.
