Telangana To Soon Disclose House Site Details For Journalists, Says Ponguleti

Government will soon give details of house sites to be allotted to journalists: Ponguleti

The government will soon disclose details of the house sites proposed for journalists, Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said.

He said the modalities had been discussed with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy during his New Delhi visit. The responsibility of identifying the land and giving a blue print has been entrusted to a senior officer, who is working on it, he said.

Government working on a permanent solution

Mr. Reddy said the government was committed to fulfilling the long-pending demand of journalists for house sites. He said the government was working towards a permanent solution that would ensure the allotments were free from legal complications.

The minister said steps were being taken to provide house sites in habitable locations where journalists could live with their families with dignity. He urged journalists who had been waiting for nearly two decades to remain patient, saying that a decision would come soon.

The proposed approach matters because the earlier process had remained stalled for a prolonged period due to legal proceedings. The government has said it wants to resolve the housing issue in a way that avoids further legal complications.

Earlier allotment remained stalled

Recalling the history of the issue, Mr. Ponguleti said land had been allotted during the tenure of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh. The process, however, remained stalled for a prolonged period because of a case pending in the Supreme Court.

He said the Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had taken the initiative to address the long-pending demand within months of assuming office.

On September 8, 2024, a programme was organised at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad, during which land was handed over to the journalists’ housing society, Mr. Ponguleti recalled.

Fresh approach after legal complications

Subsequent legal complications arising in the wake of the Supreme Court’s final orders necessitated a fresh approach to resolve the issue permanently, the minister said.

“Our government is determined to fulfil journalists’ dream of owning a house,” he said. “Journalists need not worry, as the government was moving towards an enduring and mutually acceptable solution to the housing issue,” he said.

The government’s next stated step is to provide details of the sites after the land-identification exercise and blue print are completed. Its stated objective is to make allotments in habitable locations while keeping them free from legal complications.

Source: The Hindu