11,700 families now own a 2BHK in Hyderabad

On Saturday morning, 11,700 families in Hyderabad woke up to a new dawn that marked their promising future

Hyderabad: On Saturday morning, 11,700 families in the city woke up to a new dawn that marked their promising future. With a lot of hope tinged with a touch of nervousness, they hopped onto the buses organised by the GHMC and reached nine different locations where their lifelong dream of owning a home came true.

Under the Telangana government’s flagship 2BHK Housing Scheme, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had promised one lakh houses to urban poor families. While 4,074 houses in 30 slums have already been handed over to beneficiaries, in Phase 1, an additional 500 houses were distributed to each of the 24 constituencies that fall under the GHMC limits.

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These colonies spread across nine locations in the city look no less than an upscale gated community. With ample parking space, lift, commercial shops, neatly laid roads and footpath, the colony adorned by trees provides poor families a chance to live with dignity.

Ensuring no unfair preferences, 3.55 lakh applications that were mapped to different constituencies in the GHMC went through a rigorous eligibility check by the revenue teams. The allotment of houses was also done using National Informatics Centre-supported software.

Minister inaugurates 1,700 houses in Bahadurpally

Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav inaugurated the 1,700-2BHK Dignity Housing Colony at Bahadurpally, Quthbullapur, on Saturday. While 144 beneficiaries belong to Gajularamaram, 356 are from Bahadurpally, 500 each from Sanathnagar and Kukatpally, and 200 from Secunderabad Cantonment areas.

“The land on which these houses are built is Rs 8-10 crore per acre. Each house costs Rs 50-60 lakh, and it is being given to the poor free of cost. Nowhere else in the country, you will see such a scheme being implemented by the government,” he said.

‘Birthday gift from govt’

On Friday, Swetha and her husband Shrikant were busy preparing for their four-year-old daughter Lakshitha’s birthday celebrations, when they received a phone call from an unknown number. The call informed them that they had been allotted a double-bedroom house and asked them to reach a location the next day to collect their registration papers.

“I was in disbelief. We applied years ago and even when we reached the venue, we were still unsure until we actually saw them give the papers. We are very happy today,” Swetha said. The couple currently lives in a rented one-bedroom house in West Marredpally with Srikanth’s mother and their daughter. Srikanth is a delivery person who runs his family on meagre earnings. “We own our home and it is like a birthday gift from the government to our daughter,” said Shrikanth, with a bright smile on his face.

It is for our son: Padmavati

Expecting it to be just a gathering to talk about the double-bedroom houses, Padmavati came alone to Bahadurpally with other women who received similar calls. But the day turned out to be the most memorable one for her.

With a tinge of happy tears in her eyes, she says “I thought they may only pick the lucky draw here, but didn’t know that we will actually receive a house today.”

Padmavati lives in Indiranagar along with her son and husband who is a driver. Thanking Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for the double-bedroom house, she said it would help them provide a better future for their son.

Never been happier: Ahmed

After struggling for years to make ends meet, Ahmed who is in his 50s almost gave up on his dream of living in his own house. But on Friday when he was returning home after offering prayers at a mosque, he learned that his wife was allotted a house under the 2BHK Housing Scheme.

“I have done odd jobs my entire life. It was very difficult financially. I always wanted to have a house so that my wife and children lived with respect. Today, that dream is fulfilled,” he says.

Feels like a dream: Ramesh

Not knowing what to expect, Ramesh and his wife sat patiently throughout the programme. When MLA Vivekanand Goud informed that everyone who received a call would be allotted their houses, the couple looked at each other and smiled nodding their heads.

“I run a small shop and am a father to two daughters. It all feels like a dream. I never thought that I’d actually receive this double-bedroom house,” he says, clinching his wife’s hand in excitement.

Next phase in 15 days: GHMC Mayor

Assuring those who were not named in the first phase of the lottery for the 2BHK dignity houses, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi said more houses will be distributed in six installments. A total of 12,000 houses are expected to be allotted in each installment, with the next phase scheduled to be held in 15 days.

Along with Uppal Legislative Members Bheti Subhas Reddy and Deputy Mayor Srilata Shobhan Reddy, she handed over the registration papers to 500 beneficiaries at Sriram Nagar Colony in Uppal on Saturday.