Poor Will Get Cement at Subsidised Rate: Ponguleti
He argued that rising material costs, masonry charges, and labour expenses required the budget per house to be raised to ensure that poor families could complete the construction of their allotted houses.
Hyderabad: Cement will be supplied at a subsidised price of Rs 230 per 50-kg bag for poor and low-income families who have been allotted Indiramma houses, the government told the Assembly on Thursday. The market price stood at Rs 310- Rs 320.
Replying during Question Hour, revenue and housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said he along with industries minister D. Sridhar Babu had held discussions with cement companies and an agreement had been finalised to supply cement at subsidised prices. The scheme would be implemented soon. Srinivas Reddy also informed that steps are also being taken to provide steel at a lower cost.
The minister was responding to suggestions from Congress Munugode MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy who made a strong pitch for increasing the financial assistance to the poor, stating that Rs 5 lakh was insufficient in view of rising construction costs. He argued that rising material costs, masonry charges, and labour expenses required the budget per house to be raised to ensure that poor families could complete the construction of their allotted houses.
Srinivas Reddy said the government was seeking Central approval for 11,56,929 houses identified via the Awas App survey. As part of its ongoing housing initiative, the state has sanctioned 800,000 houses across two phases, committing approximately Rs 40,000 crore to the project.
The minister stated that measures had been initiated to construct 'Indiramma Towers' as a pilot project across 20 constituencies in the Hyderabad region. Beneficiaries had been selected via a lottery system in 16 constituencies; physical verification was complete, and the final list was being prepared.
Earlier, AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi cautioned that schemes like Indiramma Housing may end up benefiting non-eligible persons. He demanded that the government make public details of the beneficiaries, citing that the most of the underprivileged were from SC, ST and minority communities and were the most deserving for assistance.