Middle Class To Get Houses At Affordable Rates: Ponguleti
Collectors were instructed to complete beneficiary selection for both incomplete and already completed 2BHK houses by the end of March.
Hyderabad: Housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Tuesday announced that the state government would introduce an affordable housing policy to construct houses for middle-class families in the area between the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR). The houses will be built on the lines of housing developed by previous Congress governments in the KPHB Colony in Hyderabad.
The minister directed officials to identify land parcels at four locations in the ORR–RRR area and submit a report within 10 days.
Srinivas Reddy said the government would also launch construction of Indiramma houses for the poor in a G+5 or G+10 format in the CURE (Core Urban Region Economy) area covering Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Medchal districts. These houses will be distributed free of cost to eligible beneficiaries.
He announced that the government would complete and distribute the 2BHK houses in the city that were left unfinished during the previous BRS regime. Pending works on incomplete 2BHK units will be taken up on priority and allotted to beneficiaries. Srinivas Reddy stated that the process of identifying beneficiaries for Indiramma houses in the CURE region would be completed by the end of March.
The minister was speaking during a review of issues relating to land acquisition for Indiramma model colonies in urban slums, completion of unfinished double-bedroom houses and allotment of completed units at a meeting held at Secretariat on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar and Mohammed Azharuddin, along with housing secretary V.P. Gautam, district collectors of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy, and commissioners of GHMC, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations.
Officials informed the minister that many poor families living in urban slums were reluctant to relocate to houses constructed far away from the city, as it affected their livelihoods. A recent field survey revealed that of the 42,000 2BHK houses built earlier during BRS regime in distant locations from Hyderabad, only about half were occupied. Officials also pointed out the presence of bogus beneficiaries in several areas.
Taking these issues into account and in line with the vision of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the government was considering constructing five- to ten-storey Indiramma housing blocks closer to beneficiaries’ existing residential areas to avoid disrupting their livelihoods. A final decision on the proposal will be taken at the next Cabinet meeting.
The minister directed collectors and municipal commissioners to coordinate and submit reports within ten days detailing available land, the number of houses that can be constructed and the number of eligible beneficiaries in their respective jurisdictions, with special focus on the CURE region.
Srinivas Reddy said that if slum residents who owned land agreed, Indiramma houses up to G+5 would be constructed at the same locations. The government is also considering replacing dilapidated houses built under the JNNURM scheme with new Indiramma housing units. Officials were directed to issue Indirama houses sanction letters by the end of this month to 28,000 beneficiaries who have house sites within the limits of the three municipal corporations.
Collectors were instructed to complete beneficiary selection for both incomplete and already completed 2BHK houses by the end of March. In the case of unfinished units, identified beneficiaries would be allowed to complete construction themselves, with the Housing Corporation releasing the remaining funds after adjusting the amount already spent.
The minister also ordered officials to identify those who had taken possession of houses but were not residing in them and issue notices, besides weeding out bogus beneficiaries. Eligible poor families living nearby should be selected in place of ineligible persons, irrespective of political considerations.
Srinivas Reddy directed officials to ensure basic amenities such as drinking water, electricity and drainage in all 2BHK housing colonies. Power distribution companies were asked to transfer electricity meters to beneficiaries’ names, while the Hyderabad Water Board was instructed to maintain water supply infrastructure, sewage treatment plants and underground drainage systems effectively in the 2BHK colonies.