Municipal Minister approves construction of 177 houses at Velampeta in Visakhapatnam

In a significant development, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P. Narayana has approved the construction of houses for 177 families living at Velampeta near Poorna Market in the One Town area here. The decision was announced at a meeting with officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority in Amaravati on Friday, after consultation with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

It may be recalled that during his recent visit to the city, Mr. Narayana inspected the Velampeta slum and interacted with residents to understand their problems. The residents told the Minister that they were facing severe hardships due to the lack of proper housing and sought construction of houses.

Mr. Narayana informed GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg and VMRDA Commissioner Tej Bharat that he was approving the proposal for construction of houses for the 177 families. He said that a decision on the financial aspects of the project would be taken shortly.

Comprehensive Water Conservation Plan

During the meeting, Mr. Garg explained the housing plan to the Minister. Discussions were also held on the Comprehensive Water Conservation Plan for Visakhapatnam, with officials stating that Detailed Project Reports had already been prepared for supplying water to industries in and around the city.

The Minister advised GVMC and VMRDA officials to focus not only on providing better civic amenities to the public but also on strengthening the financial position of the two institutions.

Officials informed that the VMRDA Master Plan notification had already been issued and that objections and suggestions had been received from the public. In view of the large number of representations, it was decided to issue another notification. Of the 15 roads proposed under the Master Plan, the Minister directed officials to take up seven roads on priority in the first phase.

During the meeting, discussions were also held on developing Kailasagiri, Kambalakonda and the Zoo Park as an integrated tourism circuit. The Minister instructed the VMRDA Commissioner to coordinate with officials of the Tourism Department and focus on further developing these locations as major tourist attractions.