2BHK dreams put on hold as Govt looks at Indiramma Housing

This was even after the issue was raised by a few MLAs during the budget session last month in the Assembly.

Hyderabad: With an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the State government is gearing up to launch the Indiramma Housing Scheme on Monday, but at the same time, appears to be sidelining the allotment to beneficiaries of double bedroom houses constructed by the previous government.

This was even after the issue was raised by a few MLAs during the budget session last month in the Assembly.

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On February 9, AIMIM Floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi had said that in his constituency, PWD and GHMC quarters were demolished and new 2BHK houses were constructed at the same site.

:The previous government had issued pattas, sanction letters and even unit numbers before the elections, but the beneficiaries were now not being permitted to occupy the houses. The government needs to look into this issue,” Owaisi said.

Under the Dignity Housing programme, the previous government had envisaged construction of 2.93 lakh double bedroom houses for the poor across the State. Of these, about 1.42 lakh houses were built and allotted to beneficiaries and the rest were at different stages of construction and a few were yet to commence.

In GHMC limits, of the one lakh houses, nearly 65,000 houses were allotted to the poor. However, with the Assembly elections code coming in to vogue, a few beneficiaries could not occupy the houses allotted to them.

This apart, nearly 2,000 houses were ready to be handed over to beneficiaries at 26 locations. This apart, 2,600 houses were also ready to be handed over outside GHMC area under local quota.

Regarding this issue, the State government seems to be adopting a wait and watch approach. Though, there has been a preliminary discussion on the 2BHK houses, no concrete decision has not been taken so far, said an official from the Housing department.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had convened a meeting the housing department officials on Saturday and directed them to make arrangements for the launch of the Indiramma Housing scheme.

In the first phase, 3,500 houses would be approved in each Assembly constituency. Priority should be given to the eligible people, who registered their names during Praja Palana programme, he said.

In the first phase under the scheme, those who own a plot of land will be given Rs.5 lakh for building a new house in the plot. As per the instructions of the Chief Minister, the department officials are now preparing guidelines for extending the financial assistance.

Most likely, the assistance would be extended in four installments based on the construction stages, including basement work, slab work, sidewalls and door frames installation etc.

The guidelines are likely to be issued in a few days as only a week is left for launching the scheme. In the second phase, homeless poor will be given Rs.5 lakh along with sanctioning a house plot.

But the beneficiaries would have to be identified only after the scrutiny of the Praja Palana applications and door to door verification was completed.

Considering the scrutiny of applications and door to door verification, the exercise would consume more time. As the Lok Sabha elections notification is expected anytime shortly, the exercise could get delayed further.