Indiramma houses sanctioned two decades ago remain incomplete in Kothagudem

The previous Congress government's implementation of the same Indiramma Housing Scheme in Kothagudem district could reveal the Congress approach to the scheme.

Kothagudem: Even as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is doling out promises to different sections, including the Musi River project affected, on Indiramma houses being given to them, a look at the previous Congress government’s implementation of the same Indiramma Housing Scheme in Kothagudem district could reveal the Congress approach to the scheme.

Ironically, it was in the same Kothagudem district, at Bhadrachalam to be precise, that Revanth Reddy on March 11 this year announced that the State government would “launch” the Indiramma Housing Scheme as a model for the country. The earlier version of the scheme was when Congress was in power before formation of separate Telangana.

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As the current Congress government is initiating the first phase of its Indiramma Housing Scheme by issuing guidelines for the same, many of Indiramma houses sanctioned during late YSR regime in Kothagudem are incomplete and in dilapidated condition. The state of the houses stands as a testimony how the Congress rule earlier botched up the scheme’s implementation. When former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy introduced the Indiramma housing scheme, as many as 1100 sanctioned in Kothagudem constituency. Some of the houses were sanctioned for the poor families in Ramavaram in Kothagudem town.

A few were able to complete the construction while many could not complete the house construction as the then government failed to sanction bills in time. The bills were sanctioned in a phased manner based on the progress of the construction.

According to sources, nearly 600 houses were incomplete as some of the houses’ construction reached lintel and some slab level. Now the houses lie covered with shrubs, wild bushes and the site has turned into a dumping yard while the roads that were laid in the colony have disappeared with the growth of bushes.

BSP state general secretary Yerra Kamesh alleged that irregularities took place in sanctioning the houses. Some middlemen and local political leaders occupied some of the houses that were complete and some of the beneficiaries sold their houses to others. The government should conduct a probe into the irregularities to list out the real beneficiaries, he added.

When contacted, Kothagudem Tahsildar D Pullaiah told Telangana Today that the matter would be taken to the notice of the government for proper action and the families could be included when the fresh notification would be issued for sanctioning the houses.