HYDERABAD/KHAMMAM: Alleging that the Housing department was “dismantled” during the BRS regime, Revenue & Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Wednesday said that the present Congress government has revived the housing scheme introduced by former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy for the benefit of poor people.
The minister was addressing the gathering after participating in the housewarming ceremony of the Indiramma Housing Scheme beneficiaries at Arempula village in his Palair Assembly constituency.
“During the YSR regime, around 25 lakh Indiramma houses were built and handed over to the poor. The present Congress government under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has revived the scheme,” he said.
“Before the 2023 Assembly polls, when Revanth Reddy announced the Congress promise to introduce the housing scheme, other parties ridiculed him. They questioned him as to how he planned to fund the scheme. But our government proved them wrong,” he added.
“This government has sanctioned 4.5 lakh houses for the poor across the state, including 3,500 for this constituency,” he added.
Srinivasa Reddy, meanwhile, slammed the previous government for allegedly ignoring the poor people’s desire to have a house of their own. “Their focus was only on the Kaleshwaram project, which has now become a symbol for corruption,” he alleged.
The minister also said that distributing the houses and taking part in the housewarming ceremonies has filled him with joy. “It is a blessing for me. It will be one of the most cherished moments of my life,” he said.
‘Cong govt working to make farmer the king’
During the day, Srinivasa Reddy laid the foundation stone for cold storage warehouses at Venkatayapalem village in Khammam Rural mandal. The facility, with a capacity of 9,700 metric tonnes (MT), is being built at a cost of Rs 15 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the government is working with the goal of making farmers ‘kings’. The minister said that since the formation of Telangana, the previous government had increased warehouse capacity by 3 lakh MT in 10 years, while the present ‘people’s government’ has initiated construction of warehouses exceeding 5 lakh MT, to be completed in three years.
He added that the Telangana State Warehousing Corporation (TGSWC) is launching its first pilot cold storage project in the district, which will be completed within a year, enabling farmers growing commercial crops to use it at lower rates than private facilities.
The minister said quality seeds qwew being distributed to farmers and asserted that the issue of urea shortage, caused by the “Union government’s neglect”, will be resolved in the coming week. He recalled that they had staged protests in Delhi to secure urea supplies for farmers.
On housing, Srinivasa Reddy said past governments deceived the poor in the name of double-bedroom houses, and added that the present government has sanctioned 4.5 lakh houses in the first phase. The remaining eligible persons will be covered in subsequent phases, with ‘Indiramma houses’ to be allocated three more times, the minister added.
Godowns soon in Palair
Srinivasa Reddy, meanwhile, announced that godowns with storage capacity of over 5 lakh metric tonnes each would soon be set up in the Palair constituency. He also assured that bonus would be provided to farmers in the upcoming Yasangi season. During the day, the minister also handed over new ration cards to women beneficiaries.