HYDERABAD: In a historic initiative, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced that the Telangana government would construct 4.50 lakh Indiramma houses every year, starting this year. The project, focused on inclusive housing for the poor, will ensure the construction of 3,500 houses every year in each Assembly constituency.

The announcement was made during the launch of the Indiramma Homes mobile application, designed to enable transparent and efficient selection of beneficiaries. The event, held at the Secretariat, was attended by Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister slammed the BRS government for failing to fulfill its promise of providing two-bedroom houses to the poor.

Under the Indiramma scheme, each beneficiary will get ₹5 lakh financial assistance for construction of a house.

“Telangana is the only state to allocate such a large amount for housing assistance,” he said. Priority will be given to marginalized groups including the disabled, farm workers, sanitation workers, Dalits, tribals, widows and transgender people.

To address historical gaps, the government has also introduced special housing quota for tribals in Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) areas. This will cover communities like the Chenchus in Nallamala, the Gonds in Adilabad and the Koyas in Bhadrachalam to ensure housing for the indigenous tribes of the state.

Revanth Reddy announced that the government would construct an Indiramma model house in each mandal to serve as a guide to the beneficiaries to make the best use of their land. He clarified that there is no obligation on the beneficiaries to follow the design of the model house as they will have the freedom to construct houses according to their choices and preferences. To further ease the financial burden, he ensured waiving of loans taken under the previous Indiramma housing scheme which are ongoing.

He said they were reviving the housing department which was disbanded by the BRS government. The reorganized department will include a full complement of staff to oversee the effective implementation of the housing program.

To ensure fairness, the government will use artificial intelligence (AI) to review applications and monitor the construction process. This will prevent bad practices and ensure that only deserving beneficiaries receive housing assistance.

Revanth Reddy accused his predecessor K. Chandrasekhar Rao of neglecting housing for the poor and prioritizing his personal and party infrastructure projects.

“While we built 25.04 lakh Indiramma houses from 2004 to 2014, Rao started construction of only one lakh two-bedroom houses and completed only 65,000,” he said .

He accused Chandrashekar Rao of allocating prime land for his party offices and building luxurious facilities like Pragathi Bhavan, a lavish Secretariat and farmhouses for his family members, while failing to complete 2 bhk houses for the poor.

The Congress government has allocated ₹195 million to complete the 35,000 houses left unfinished by the previous regime, he said.

“Indira Gandhi’s vision of ‘Roti, kapda aur makaan’ remains our guiding principle,” he said.