VIJAYAWADA: The State government, as a New Year gift to beneficiaries of the social security pension, has enhanced it from the existing Rs 2,250 to Rs 2,500 per month from January 1, 2022.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who held the Spandana review meeting with District Collectors and Superintendents of Police on Tuesday, announced that the EBC Nestham Scheme will be launched on January 9, under which Rs 45,000 aid will be provided to poor women in the age group of 45-60 years hailing from upper castes in three years. The aid under the Rythu Bharosa Scheme will also be extended to beneficiaries in January.

The Jagananna Sampoorna Gruha Hakku Scheme will be launched on December 21. Eligible poor who have been left out of various government schemes, will be provided the benefit on December 28, he said. Enhancement of the social security pension in a phased manner from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 is one of the poll promises of Jagan.

Construction of houses should begin by Jan 31: CM to officials

Reviewing the housing programme, the CM said all obstacles to implement it have been cleared. The State economy will get a boost with the launch of house construction on a large scale. Officials should give priority to housing and ensure speedy clearance of bills. “Construction of all houses should start by January 31,” Jagan asserted.

The Collectors, Joint Collectors and civic chiefs should inspect construction of houses periodically. As a measure to control construction cost, brick manufacturing units should be set up within the layouts as it helps reduce transportation charges. Emphasis should also be laid on procuring cement and steel at subsidised prices, he suggested.

Underlining the need to provide a loan of Rs 35,000 to housing beneficiaries at 25 paise interest, Jagan directed the officials to coordinate with bankers in this regard. Engineering assistants in secretariats should monitor the quality of house construction. Weekly meetings from the village secretariat to the district level should be conducted to review the progress of the housing scheme. All the eligible poor should be allotted house sites under the scheme within 90 days of submitting application, he stated.

With regard to the One-Time Settlement Scheme, the CM instructed the officials to create an awareness among people about its benefits by involving village/ward secretariat staff and volunteers in the campaign. Under the OTS scheme, the State government will waive housing loans worth Rs 10,000 crore of the poor and registration will be done free of cost. The scheme will enable beneficiaries to get legal rights on the property and they can sell, transfer or pledge it.

He alleged that the opposition was trying to hinder the implementation of the scheme though the previous regime failed to consider the proposal of waiving interest on housing loans. It has evoked a good response from people and over five lakh have opted for it so far, he said.

Under the Jagananna Smart Townships initiative, he said undisputed plots will be offered to middle class people at affordable prices with proper infrastructure. Hence, the officials should focus on acquisition of land for the townships, he said. On Spandana, Jagan asked the Collectors to re-examine the mechanism set up for prompt redressal of people’s grievances.

The officials should receive applications from people under the Spandana programme at Secretariats from 3 to 5 pm everyday, in addition to the weekly schedule. “When a second application is filed on the same issue, it should be considered without fail,’’ he averred.

Discussing the agriculture infrastructure, the CM stated that the government has set up a vast network of Rythu Bharosa Kendras at the village level, which helps farmers from sowing seeds to harvesting the crop. Also, the government has set up Continuous Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement to ensure that farmers get remunerative price for their produce, Jagan added.