Hyderabad: Khairtabad MLA Danam Nagender raised concerns over the Indiramma housing draw during Zero Hour in the Assembly on Friday. He alleged that officials ignored MLAs and conducted the draw as they wished. He said such actions were undermining the government’s goal of providing houses to poor families.
Nagender said the issue affected MLAs across 16 Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad. He referred to 480 houses allotted to his constituency and questioned how the draw was conducted. According to him, beneficiaries were allotted houses in constituencies other than their own.
He cited instances involving Khairatabad, Karwan, Kukatpally, Malakpet and Charminar. Nagender said beneficiaries from one constituency received houses in another. He argued that eligible beneficiaries should receive houses within their respective constituencies.
Nagender also objected to officials conducting the draw before MLAs arrived. He said officials had given them a time of 11 am but arrived at 11.30 am. According to him, officials went ahead with the draw without waiting for the elected representatives.
He also questioned the purpose of privileges if officials failed to give due respect to MLAs. Nagender said he had sent a privilege notice to Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. However, the Speaker said he had not received the notice and asked Nagender to submit it.
Indiramma housing draw concerns draw Speaker’s assurance
Speaker Prasad Kumar assured the House that he would protect the dignity of its members. He said a complaint on the privilege issue would be examined and action taken accordingly.
Nagender also questioned errors despite the government conducting what he described as a “360-degree” scrutiny of beneficiaries. He said Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had repeatedly called for such scrutiny in every constituency. He added that eligible families should receive houses under a saturation approach.
Nagender said some applicants were being told that the Indiramma housing draw had ended and their money would be returned. He said affected people had approached him with their grievances despite claiming they met the eligibility criteria. He urged the government to issue clear directions to officials.
Minister Ponnam Prabhakar responded that the government’s policy was to allot houses to beneficiaries within their own constituencies. He said this principle would apply to MLAs in Hyderabad and areas under the CURE limits. He added that any mistakes would be addressed.
The minister said the policy was intended to avoid situations where employment and housing were located far apart. He referred to earlier housing built in locations such as Vattinagulapally. He reiterated that beneficiaries should receive houses in the constituency where the housing was being constructed.