Hyderabad: Revenue and Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said Indiramma houses for eligible families would be sanctioned in phases. He said the government aimed to make Telangana free of thatched huts.
Ponguleti said welfare of poor families remained the government’s priority despite the State’s financial position. He spoke at an Indiramma housing sanction letter distribution programme in Jangaon on Saturday.
The event took place at Preston College Ground, opposite the bus stand. Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and Jangaon MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy attended. Jangaon Municipal Chairperson Kadakanchi Balamani and Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha also attended. Several other public representatives and officials took part.
Indiramma houses eligible families to get aid in phases
Ponguleti said the government had sanctioned 4.50 lakh Indiramma houses across Telangana in the first phase. Each beneficiary would receive Rs.5 lakh in financial assistance. The government aimed to complete 2.18 lakh houses by next Dasara, he said. It had allotted 3,500 houses to each Assembly constituency, including Jangaon.
The Minister said the government deposited funds directly into beneficiaries’ accounts every Monday. Payments depended on the progress of construction. The government had also sanctioned 2.50 lakh houses in the second phase. It allotted another 2,000 houses to each constituency, he said.
Ponguleti said the government would give priority to families living in thatched huts. The measure formed part of its plan to make Telangana free of such dwellings.
Officials had identified 500 families living in thatched huts in Jangaon constituency, he said. The government offered Rs.5 lakh to each family under the housing programme. Officials later distributed Indiramma housing sanction letters to 500 eligible beneficiaries.
Aid for incomplete houses under Indiramma scheme
The Minister also announced assistance for families with unfinished Indiramma houses. They could receive between Rs.2 lakh and Rs.3 lakh to complete construction. The assistance covered houses left at the wall or slab stage. Ponguleti said families could complete those houses without demolishing the existing structures.
The government included this assistance in the second phase of the housing programme. Ponguleti said Indiramma houses eligible families would also receive support under the third and fourth phases. He said no eligible poor family should lose hope of receiving a house.
The government would identify housing sites acquired earlier and distribute them to eligible poor families. It would sanction houses on those sites in subsequent phases, he said. Ponguleti said the government had implemented free electricity up to 200 units. It had also issued new white ration cards and introduced fine rice distribution.
He said the government had raised hostel diet charges by 40 per cent. It had also substantially increased cosmetic charges for poor students. The government was building international-standard integrated educational institutions in every constituency, he said. Each institution would cost about Rs.200 crore.
Ponguleti said women’s groups had received more than Rs.70,000 crore in interest-free loans. The programme aimed to economically strengthen one crore women. Ponguleti also addressed double-bedroom houses that earlier governments had left incomplete. He said the government would make the houses habitable and hand them to beneficiaries.
The Minister announced an immediate allocation of Rs.2 crore for such houses in Jangaon. He said officials would make them habitable for eligible beneficiaries by Dasara. Ponguleti also announced Rs.25 crore in the first phase for infrastructure development in Jangaon municipality.
He called for faster execution of development works worth about Rs.58 crore to Rs.60 crore. He also cited works worth Rs.19 crore whose tender process had concluded. The Minister said the government continued to implement Rythu Bharosa. He said paddy farmers received the minimum support price and a bonus for fine varieties.
Ponguleti said the government had already filled 72,000 government jobs. It had also issued notifications for another 14,000 to 15,000 posts. Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the government had completed 1,000 days in office. He cited free bus travel for women, housing, free power and fine rice among its welfare measures.
Chamala said several issues still required attention. He said the government continued to work on resolving them despite the State’s debt burden. The MP said the government should allot double-bedroom houses only to eligible poor families. He sought removal of ineligible recipients and allotment to genuine beneficiaries.
Jangaon MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy sought further improvements to municipal infrastructure. He said the government had sanctioned development works worth Rs.18.90 crore seven months earlier.
The tender process for those works had concluded, he said. Therefore, he requested the government to start the projects immediately. Palla also sought widening of the Vadlakonda-Shamirpet bypass into a double-lane road. He requested funds for the Cheetakoduru bridge and repairs to Gandiramaram pumps.
In addition, the MLA sought more Indiramma houses for eligible poor families in the second phase.
Jangaon officials outline local measures
Municipal Chairperson Kadakanchi Balamani said officials had taken steps to address drinking water problems around the Cheetakoduru dam. Residents in the area had faced drinking water problems since 2008, she said. She added that the municipality had now made drinking water available to those areas.
Balamani said the municipality was giving priority to infrastructure across several wards. She said the civic body aimed to develop Jangaon as a model municipality.
Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha said officials were distributing Indiramma housing sanction letters to eligible beneficiaries across the district. He said the government was working to help poor families realise their goal of owning a house.