Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Jul 6: It has been revealed that not a single house has been sanctioned under any housing scheme for Dakshina Kannada (DK) in the past four years. This issue came to light during the trimester meeting of the KDP held on Friday at the Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat premises.

District in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao expressed his concern, stating, "It is a grave offence that no houses have been allotted to Dakshina Kannada under the housing scheme." He assured that action would be taken against the project director of the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) for this oversight.

MLA Ashok Kumar Rai highlighted further issues with the housing schemes, saying, "Applications submitted under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation are pending. The staff at the Bengaluru office informed me about this. If this situation continues, how will the homeless poor get houses? Applications sent over a year and a half ago have not yet reached the corporation."

Minister Gundu Rao reprimanded the officers, urging them to track the missing files. Dr Anand, CEO of the zilla panchayat, stated that according to a 2018 survey, there are over 49,000 homeless people in the district. MLC Ivan D’Souza emphasized that this is a serious issue that requires immediate resolution.

The concerned officials reported that the houses currently under construction were sanctioned between 2010 and 2020. Out of 64,123 identified beneficiaries over the past decade, 48,252 houses have been completed, 4,898 houses are still under construction, and construction for 1,111 houses has yet to begin.