21 lakhs homeless in state: Zameer

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed on Monday disclosed in the Assembly that there are 21.74 lakh homeless people in Karnataka. He made the revelation in response to a question raised by party colleague and Shanti Nagar MLA NA Haris.

“There are 18.72 lakh houseless people and 7.19 lakh siteless people in rural areas. Similarly, in urban areas, there are 3.02 lakh homeless and 10.27 lakh siteless persons,” Zameer said while referring to the issue of construction of houses under the Union government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

He added that houses had been constructed but a fraction of them had been occupied. “Despite the construction of 4.42 lakh houses under various housing schemes in the state in the last three years, as many as 26,582 houses have been allocated under the Chief Minister’s Rural and Urban Housing Schemes,” the minister said.

Zameer disclosed that in the last three years, the Central government had released Rs 214.92 crore under the PMAY and Rs 1,470.22 crore under the Urban Housing Scheme.

He also alleged that allotment letters for housing were issued without authorisation during the previous BJP government’s tenure in Chikkaballapur district through the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited in response to a question by Congress MLA Nange Gowda.

The minister said that ‘shadi mahals’ and community halls that were approved during the 2013-18 Siddaramaiah government had been starved of funds under the BJP govt that ruled during 2019-23.

However, the projects would be completed at a cost of Rs 54 crore allocated for them in the recent Budget, he said.