HYDERABAD: The state government is willing to consider increasing the Rs 5 lakh assistance being provided for construction of each Indiramma house in view of rising construction costs, Revenue and Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said in the Assembly on Thursday.
The government will complete all Indiramma Indlu houses under construction in the Core Urban Region (CURE), covering Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, before next year’s Bonalu festival, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said. About 3,200 houses sanctioned in the first phase but held up over minor issues had been cleared, with payments expected by the end of the week.
Replying to questions from MLAs during Question Hour, the minister said the government’s priority was to build houses where poor families lived and worked rather than move them 30–40 km away from their livelihoods.
Each Assembly constituency was being treated as a unit for allotment, even in areas where land costs Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore an acre, he said.
Beneficiaries were being selected through a lottery, followed by door-to-door physical verification. Names of those found to belong to other constituencies would be removed, he said.
The first phase covers 4.5 lakh houses at an estimated cost of Rs 22,500 crore, while the second covers 2.5 lakh houses at about Rs 11,000 crore. Another Rs 5,500 crore would be required for one lakh houses in urban areas, taking the cost of the two phases to more than Rs 40,000 crore. The state government has also sought the Union government’s sanction for 11,56,929 houses identified through the Pradhan Mantri Awaas App survey, with approval awaited, he said.
More than Rs 600 crore had been spent on completing unfinished 2BHK houses and providing infrastructure left pending by the previous government. Around 59,000 families living in huts across the state would be given priority in the second phase, Srinivasa Reddy said.
Indiramma Towers
The government is developing Indiramma Towers on a pilot basis in 20 constituencies in the CURE region. Beneficiaries in 16 constituencies have already been selected through lotteries and are undergoing physical verification.
The government plans to facilitate housewarmings in the towers by next year’s Bonalu festival. The model could later be extended to other municipal corporations and, where required, municipalities, he said.
