No Construction, No House: Telangana to Cancel Indiramma House Allotments

Telangana Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced on Monday (September 21) that the government has decided to cancel the allotment of Indiramma Houses if construction has not begun, and to allot those houses instead to people who are eligible.

Under the scheme, the government provides a subsidy of ₹5 lakh per house, released in instalments. Beneficiaries are required to meet the initial cost of construction from their own funds, and the first instalment is released only after the basement is completed. According to the Minister, some beneficiaries have been unable to begin work because they found it difficult to raise the initial amount required.

The issue was raised in the recently held monsoon session of the State Assembly. Replying to it, the Minister said Self Help Groups (SHGs) provide an advance of ₹1 lakh to beneficiaries who are members of such groups.

Later in the day, after laying the foundation stone for an Indiramma Housing tower near Malkam Cheruvu in Raidurg, within the Serilingampally Assembly constituency, the Minister said the government aims to complete the housing towers in Hyderabad under the Core Urban Region (CURE) programme at a fast pace, so that beneficiaries can celebrate Bonalu next year in their new homes.

The Minister urged people not to be disheartened if they applied but were not selected in the draw of lots for the flats. The government intends to build one lakh such houses in the CURE limits.

In the first phase, 480 flats were sanctioned for each Assembly constituency. Draws have so far been held to select beneficiaries for 7,340 flats across 16 Assembly constituencies, and houses in more constituencies are planned to be allotted. The Minister said houses would be constructed in subsequent phases as well.

“Houses would be provided to eligible persons from poor backgrounds in CURE limits in the coming two-and-a-half years,” Mr. Reddy said.

He said that apart from an undivided share of 17 to 20 square yards for each beneficiary, measures are being taken to give every beneficiary complete ownership of their flat. A decision has also been taken to waive sale deed and registration charges.

The announcement covered two strands of the government’s housing effort being pursued in and around Hyderabad: subsidised houses built by beneficiaries themselves, where the ₹5 lakh assistance is paid in stages, and the CURE flats, for which beneficiaries are chosen through draws of lots. The Minister’s remarks on cancellation apply to the first category, where work has not started.

The government has not specified a deadline within which construction must begin for an allotment to remain valid, and no details were given on the process by which cancelled allotments would be reassigned. The Housing Minister’s statement indicates that the government will look to move the units to applicants who are able to start work.