Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s Navaratnalu house sites to poor scheme received a jolt on Friday.

The AP High Court issued orders directing the YSRCP government not to force beneficiaries of house sites to build houses until further orders of the High Court.

Some 128 beneficiaries of house sites moved the High Court challenging the orders of the YSRCP government to build houses on the house sites allotted to them immediately else the state government will take back their house sites.

The YSRCP government has allotted one cent of land in urban areas and one-and-half-cent in rural areas to the poor to construct houses.

The High Court found fault with state government forcing people to construct houses without undertaking a scientific study on the implications involved in the construction of houses in an area of just one cent.

The High Court observed that constructing houses in such a small place may lead to health issues besides fire safety issues and without addressing these issues, it should not force beneficiaries to construct houses.

The High Court also observed that the YSRCP government’s directions on forcing beneficiaries to construct houses amount to a violation of fundamental rights of people and when fundamental rights issue is involved, the courts will definitely intervene.

However, the court made it clear that it was not against allotting land or houses to the poor but only concerned about forcing beneficiaries to construct houses in a cent plot.