The amount disbursed to the beneficiaries of Indiramma Houses in Telangana has crossed ₹2,500 crore so far. Of around 3 lakh sanctioned, 2.25 lakh houses were grounded (construction has begun) in six months — the pilot project was rolled out this January and construction in all gram panchayats began in May.
Corporation’s Managing Director V.P. Gautham said the scheme is a mix of welfare and development. Besides providing dignified housing, assets too are created for the beneficiaries. It gave a push to the rural economy, creating employment to many, he said addressing a press conference at the Corporation’s office Hyderabad on Tuesday (October 28).
Each beneficiary is provided with financial assistance of ₹5 lakh towards construction of a house in a minimum of 400 sq. ft and maximum of 600 sq. ft area. Though there were requests from various corners to allow construction of the houses in more than 600 sq. ft. area, the condition was not changed.
Mr. Gautham reasoned that this helps in avoiding people who can afford construction, tapping into the scheme; a person constructing a house in over 1000 sq. ft. with ₹20 lakh or any other amount, may try all means to benefit from the scheme and avail ₹5 lakh which makes for a part of the overall amount needed for the construction. He said that if one spends ₹1,250 per sq. ft. construction, the amount needed for over 400 sq ft. house will cross ₹5 lakh and the condition helps people from the poor background to not fall into a debt trap for house construction.
