AP Government Issues Guidelines for Allocating Housing Sites

As part of the "Housing for All" initiative, the Andhra Pradesh government has released guidelines for allocating housing sites to economically disadvantaged families. Special Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department issued the orders today, outlining the specific measures to implement this program effectively. Under the scheme, the government will allocate 3 cents of land to poor families in rural areas and 2 cents of land in urban areas.

The orders clarified that the government would issue conveyance deeds for the allocated lands. These deeds will provide freehold rights with a tenure restriction of 10 years. The policy has been designed to ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive free housing plots only once in their lifetime. The guidelines further mandate that construction on the allotted land must commence within two years of allocation.

Eligibility for this scheme is limited to families below the poverty line. The orders emphasized that beneficiaries should not possess any housing site or own a house elsewhere in the state. Additionally, the beneficiaries must not have availed benefits from any central or state housing schemes previously.

The scheme will be monitored by a committee chaired by the Revenue Minister. This committee will include Ministers of the Municipal Administration and Housing Departments, along with senior officials, as its members. To ensure effective coordination among various departments, the orders also announced the formation of an officials' committee.