Hyderabad: Revenue, Housing and Information & Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had set a June 2 deadline to resolve the long-pending journalist housing issue in the state.
He said the government remained committed to allotting house sites to eligible journalists with transparency and sincerity. The statement followed earlier assurances by A. Revanth Reddy, who indicated that the matter would be resolved after considering all views.
The Minister held a meeting on Friday at the Secretariat with representatives of various journalists’ housing societies. These included Jawaharlal Nehru Housing Society, Journalists’ Housing Society, Deccan Journalists and Telangana Housing Societies.
Journalist housing issue reviewed with societies
During the meeting, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy reviewed key details of the societies. He examined their founding years, membership strength and eligibility criteria.
An initial review showed that, apart from the Jawaharlal Nehru Housing Society, around 2,424 journalists qualified in the other three societies.
He said resolving the journalist housing issue would be easier if all stakeholders worked together. Therefore, he proposed forming a Joint Action Committee involving all societies.
The Minister also said house sites would be allotted to eligible journalists who were not members of any associations. He urged all stakeholders to support a transparent allocation process without controversy.
Journalist housing issue linked to long-pending demands
Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy recalled that an earlier Congress government had allocated house sites to journalists. However, the issue remained unresolved for years.
He said the Jawaharlal Nehru Journalist Housing Society had faced the problem for nearly 18 years. Although land allocation was initiated earlier, legal challenges caused delays.
The Minister said the present government aimed to resolve the issue proactively. He reiterated that efforts were underway to settle the matter by June 2.
He also said the Chief Minister was open to allocating housing plots in Future City. This would include journalists in Hyderabad along with elected representatives and officials.
During a separate meeting, the Minister asked Jawaharlal Nehru Housing Society members to disclose details and pass a resolution for submission to the government.
However, the members said they had contributed ₹2 lakh each for plots nearly 18 years ago. Therefore, they urged the government to prioritise their society during allocation.
Media Academy Chairman K. Srinivasa Reddy, Special Commissioner G. Mukunda Reddy and other officials attended the meeting.