Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, announced a new scheme for poor people on Tuesday that will waive all loans and interest on government-owned houses and provide them full rights over their properties in exchange for a nominal payment.
At a function in Tanuku, West Godavari district, the chief minister announced that the scheme, called Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku Pathakam (Jagan's total housing rights scheme), would benefit over 5.2 million families who would receive registered title deeds for a nominal fee under a one-time-settlement (OTS) plan.
In his remarks to the crowd, Jagan stated that by providing the recipients with complete rights and registration paperwork, they will be able to pass on the assets to future generations, obtain bank loans, and sell their land at market value without any hassles.
"The government is waiving the outstanding housing loans of beneficiaries who took out loans from the AP Housing Board Corporation between 2011 and now," he added. "Beneficiaries will be handed house documents with clear titles and free registration, benefiting 52 lakh people."
In response to criticism from opposition parties that the scheme was designed to collect money from beneficiaries in the form of OTS, the chief minister said his government had credited people with 1.16 lakh crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) without the involvement of middlemen under welfare initiatives in the last 30 months.
"Why would I collect money from the needy in the name of OTS when over Rs.1.16 lakh crore has already been distributed via various schemes?" he queried.
The chief minister issued registered paperwork to 826,000 people who had joined the OTS as part of the scheme. "Similarly, persons who built houses on government-allotted properties with their own money but don't have full rights can register their property for simply ten dollars and secure their property." "The government has spent 6,000 crore on free registrations alone," he claimed.
The total worth of the assets, according to Jagan, will be around Rs 1,58,000 crore, and beneficiaries would be able to participate in the scheme by paying nominal sums of Rs 10,000 in villages, Rs 15,000 rupees in municipalities, and Rs 20,000 in municipal corporations.
"If the loan amount is less than the stipulated amounts, the recipients can pay the outstanding loan amount and regain entire ownership of their property," he added, adding that the scheme will be prolonged until April 2nd, the Ugadi festival.
He explained that after the registration, the property would be removed from the prohibited lands under Section 22 (A), and the beneficiary would be free to conduct any legal transaction.
