Hyderabad: The Telangana government is taking a closer look at its two-bedroom welfare housing scheme after complaints started rolling in that some of the homes aren’t being used as intended.
To investigate, the Housing Department has launched a new mobile app – called Housing Colonies Inspection – that lets officials check whether the people who got the homes are still living in them, or if they’ve been rented out, sold off, or repurposed in ways that break the rules.
The crackdown zeroes in on units built under the Indiramma Housing Scheme, especially in urban areas where the block housing model was used. Officials recently ran pilot checks in two colonies – Boduppal and Chengicherla, both in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district – surveying a total of 113 homes. They logged occupancy status and collected evidence. The results were encouraging enough for the government to greenlight statewide inspections.
The scale of the scheme is significant. Under the previous administration, over 2.36 lakh units were sanctioned. Of those, 1.58 lakh were completed and 1.36 lakh handed out. But concerns have been growing, particularly in parts of Greater Hyderabad, that many homes are either vacant or being used as rental properties – sometimes by people who already own houses elsewhere.
Now, GHMC personnel along with local revenue and panchayat staff will visit each allocated home. Using the app, they’ll record if the unit is occupied, gather Aadhaar and family details, and take photos if the property is locked. Inspectors will also check ownership papers and, where someone other than the original beneficiary is living there, document how long they’ve stayed and why.
If a home is found to be misused or empty, the absentee beneficiary will be served a notice. What happens next will depend on how they respond.
