Govt taking steps to build over 8,000 houses in AP dist

Visakhapatnam, Apr 23 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Government was taking steps to build permanent houses for 8,097 families in the district, besides providing 12,000 house sites under 'Rajiv Swagruha Scheme,' Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said today.

Speaking after the 'Praja Patham' programme here, he said the construction of 80 per cent of the 15,720 houses, sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), had started and work on the rest would be initiated soon. Another 19,000 houses would be built after getting the Centre's approval, he added.

Stating that works at a cost of Rs 1,575 crore had been taken up under the JNNURM, he said works at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore were pending for approval from the Centre.

During the programme, the Chief Minister distributed pensions to widows, the elderly and the handicapped, and placement orders and certificates to youth, trained by the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation (GVMC).

Later, Dr Reddy inaugurated the new building of the Indo-German Institute of Advanced Technology (IGIAT), a joint venture of the Andhra Pradesh Government, Government of Germany and Gayatri Vidya Parishad near Kancharapalem in the city.

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