Hyderabad: Fund shortage hits 2BHK project

Hyderabad: The 2BHK housing project in the city that is hit by a fund shortage received Rs 500 crore on Friday to clear pending bills. Even as this became known, contractors submitted fresh bills for Rs 500 crore. They want the GHMC to pay up, else will halt the ongoing work.

According to sources, the state housing department released Rs 500 crore on Friday to clear bills. Sources said that due to the delay in the construction of the dwelling units at about 80 locations, the project has become unviable due to the rise in labour cost and steel price.

Sources said that in three years, state government released 50 per cent of the funds due to which the project has been extended already by 18 months. With the current delay the project will be further extended.

A senior GHMC official said that the unit cost of each dwelling unit over the years has gone beyond Rs 8 lakh against the actual price Rs 7.65 lakh fixed by state government. However, he said the corporation has persuaded the agencies that the project was embarked not to make profits, but in public interest. The official said though state government released Rs 750 crore since April, the corporation is still falling short of Rs 500 crore. He said that it has become a tough job to the corporation to convince the agencies to continue with the project when about 80 per cent of the construction has been nearing completion.

He said that they have managed to clear all pending bills in August and asked the agencies to continue the 2BHK housing project. The GHMC official said though the corporation has fixed the target of completion by 2020 it might be further extended if fund release continues in the same manner. He said the corporation was committed to meet the fresh deadlines if the funds were released on time.