The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : VAMBAY flats lying vacant

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Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

VAMBAY flats lying vacant

K. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy

Beneficiaries make do with temporary shelters on Musi banks

Families facing displacement threat from officials and local encroachers
RDO ascribes long delay to process in removing fake beneficiaries

— Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

No takers: VAMBAY houses built in 2002 kept idle for 6 years at Shalivahananagar.

HYDERABAD: Day in and day out, the residents of Shalivahananagar in Moosarambagh look longingly at the VAMBAY flats opposite their make-shift shanties, which should have long been theirs.

The flats numbering 116 built here under Valmiki Ambedkar Awaas Yojana (VAMBAY) scheme have been lying vacant for six years while the chosen beneficiaries make do with temporary shelters on the banks of River Musi. They are in sub-human living conditions deprived of basic amenities like potable water, street lighting and sanitation.

Bank loans

The issue of unallocated houses went to National S.C. Commission, and discussed in Hyderabad District Review and Development Committee (DRDC) meeting remained unresolved. The recipients were given bank loans of Rs. 30,000 each, to match the 50 per cent beneficiary component of VAMBAY, which they were to repay after possession of the flats.

Though the houses were not allotted, the beneficiaries repaid part of the loan with the hope of future possession. The amounts ranging between Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000, however, proved to be an additional burden.

P. Kumar, an identified beneficiary, repaid Rs. 10,000 of the loan, but he was told that the money had been adjusted towards interest. “We paid the instalments regularly, but were not able to continue with it as the houses were not allotted. Besides, we were spending a lot of money to bribe local leaders and officials, apart from losing workdays,” he said.

It is the same case with rest and all of them are ‘defaulters’ now. And it would be difficult for them to repay the loans as the amount has spiralled along with the interest. Living next to a sewage rivulet, without any basic amenities is an ordeal for these families. “We (women) are facing humiliation everyday since we don’t have sanitation facilities,” said K. Venkata Rathnam, a slum dweller.

They are to complete their ablutions before dawn in fields on the opposite bank of Musi where they would be shouted at and abused by the farmers. While mosquitoes cohabitate with them, snakes pay frequent visits.

Monthly rents

Adding to their woes, these families are facing displacement threat from both the officials and local encroachers. “The GHMC officials are trying to evict them from the bank for Musi Revitalisation Project,” said Selvin Mary, coordinator of Campaign for Housing and Tenurial Rights (CHATRI). Local goons claiming the rights of the land try to extract monthly rents. “Two days back, our belongings were thrown out as we could not pay the rent of Rs.100,” said D. Tara, another resident of the slum.

Revenue Divisional Officer, Hyderabad, M. Hanumatha Reddy ascribed the long delay to their investigation process to remove fake beneficiaries from the list. “Discrepancies crept into beneficiaries’ list and we had to probe into the issue. We will come up with the final list very soon,” said Mr. Reddy. Sr. Mary demanded that nobody should be excluded from the final list based on their default of the bank loan.

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