HYDERABAD: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday said that the delay in the release of the State government’s matching grant for the Smart Cities project in Karimnagar and Warangal has delayed the release of further grants from the Centre.
Kishan said that the Centre has allotted a total of Rs 1,000 crore and released Rs 392 crore so far, while the State government has released only Rs 236 crore of its required matching grant. The State government’s delay has affected the release of further Central funds, despite the Centre being prepared to release more, he claimed.
Kishan also said that the Centre has released Rs 833.36 crore for 12 towns in Telangana under the first phase of the AMRUT scheme, and Rs 100 crore for preparing detailed project reports for 143 towns under AMRUT 2.0.
He said that the State government has utilised Rs 3,128 crore out of the Rs 4,465.81 crore released by the Centre for the construction of 2BHK houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Of the 2,49,465 houses sanctioned by the Centre, construction has begun on 2,39,422 units, and according to reports, 2,15,443 houses have been completed.
However, Kishan expressed his doubt about the accuracy of the reports submitted by the State government. He stated that the poor are waiting for permanent shelter through PMAY, but the State government has failed to fulfil its promise by delaying the construction of these houses.