VIJAYAWADA: The Central government has sanctioned a total of five lakh houses for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Housing for All’ vision, Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar said.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Pemmasani said Andhra Pradesh had been allocated an additional 2.25 lakh houses, taking the total number of houses made available to the State since the coalition government assumed office to three lakh. Telangana, which had already received 79,000 houses, has now been allocated an additional 1.21 lakh, taking its total to two lakh houses.
He said only 42,000 of the 1.78 lakh houses sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh between 2019 and 2024 had been completed, representing about 23 per cent. Steps were being taken to complete the remaining houses, which were pending at various stages.
The government aims to identify eligible beneficiaries with land in a transparent manner and complete construction of the newly sanctioned three lakh houses within the next two to three years, he said. The ‘Awaas Plus’ app, geo-tagging and self-survey mechanisms were being used to ensure transparency in beneficiary selection.
Pemmasani said beneficiaries could also receive additional assistance through various Central and State government schemes. Combining the available support, government assistance of around Rs 1.7 lakh to Rs 1.8 lakh could be provided for each house.
He said eligibility criteria had been simplified by raising the monthly income ceiling from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. Ownership of commonly used items such as two-wheelers and refrigerators had also been removed from the disqualification criteria.