Udupi : MLA Pramodh Madhwaraj said the land, allotted for any gram panchayat coming under Udupi Assembly constituency, would be considered for all the eligible beneficiaries applied for the houses for the constituency.

Addressing panchayat development officers (PDOs) and village accountants (VAs) at a meeting convened to discuss allocation of sites for homeless needy, he said the beneficiaries in the constituency might be allotted land and houses in any of the gram panchayats coming under the constituency. Hence, the gram panchayats should also accommodate the people from their neighbourhood, he added.

He said 90 acres of land is earmarked for housing sites, excluding the city municipal area. In this, 30 acres have been handed over already, he noted.

The MLA said the beneficiaries would be offered flats in the CMC area. If they are reluctant to reside in flats, they would be given sites in rural areas. The flat system is opted in the city as it is easy to accommodate more number of beneficiaries, he felt.

He said land losers for national highway are given land in the city. Member Sunitha Shetty stressed that the names of beneficiaries, who fail to construct the houses immediately, should be taken out of the list. Land should be given to other beneficiaries. The beneficiaries should be given time limit to construct the houses or the land should be taken back, she demanded.

The MLA told the PDOs and the VAs to make sure that beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are given Rs 20,000 extra under housing schemes like Basava Vasathi Yojane. In Udupi assembly constituency, 299 beneficiaries are shortlisted for ‘A’ list. However, the list would be finalised after a thorough verification, he added.

He said objections would be invited and the process would get over by April 15. In one acre of land, about 23 beneficiaries can be accommodated. Holding the PDOs and the VAs responsible for loopholes, the MLA said the selection criteria should be purely on the norms put forth for eligibility. They should also ensure that all the eligible beneficiaries should be included in the list, he added.

The MLA said tanker water would be provided to the areas which are facing scarcity of water.

He instructed the officials to take up water problem on priority. Files pertaining to water shortage should be disposed of within 24 hours, he said.

The MLA said that the Union government has stopped funding for the multivillage drinking water schemes. The sharing ratio of finance between the Centre and the State is 50:50, he stated.

He also gave March 31 deadline to complete the formalities of shortlisting the homeless needy for ‘A’ list. Assistant Executive Engineer Sathish said 22 works on water projects, out of the total 24 works, have been completed.