Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development K.T.Rama Rao announced that the distribution of the much-awaited double-bedroom housing units constructed in the city under the Telangana government’s ‘Dignity Housing’ scheme will begin within a week.
At a high-level review meeting on Wednesday, Mr.Rama Rao asked GHMC officials to make preparations towards this end.
His announcement comes a day after the Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao, during his Independence Day speech from the Golconda Fort, mentioned that the one lakh double bedroom housing units targeted in the city are complete, and would be distributed from Tuesday itself.
Mr. Rama Rao, on the other hand, said that of the total one lakh housing units, 75,000 units have been completed so far, and 4,500 units have been already distributed to the beneficiaries at the sites of in-situ construction in the place of existing slums.
The remaining units will be distributed in five to six phases, the Minister said. There will not be any political interference, and officials are identifying the beneficiaries by conducting field visits, he said.
Officials from GHMC informed that the verification process is under way by the Revenue officials of the respective districts. GHMC is not involved in the identification of beneficiaries, a task left to the respective district administrations. The corporation had only helped in sorting out the applications circle and division wise to simplify the verification process, he said.
District Collectors will be the ultimate authorities in the selection of beneficiaries, which will be done through a draw of lots, he informed. In the first phase, 500 beneficiaries will be identified in each Assembly constituency.
Though identification of beneficiaries is the initial step in the poor’s housing projects sponsored by the Central government, Telangana has ducked the rule, and constructed the majority of the complexes without prior allotment. This was possible because the units had no component of beneficiary contribution.
The 70,000 units up for distribution have been ready in all respects for the past two years, yet allotment could not be taken up due to delay in the identification of beneficiaries. A total five lakh applications for double-bedroom housing units were received through the Mee Seva centres.
Apart from modalities of allotment, the meeting also discussed identification of beneficiaries under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
Ministers Talasani Sarivas Yadav, P.Sabitha Indra Reddy, Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Ch. Malla Reddy and deputy speaker T. Padma Rao Goud apart from senior officials from GHMC were present at the meeting, a press note informed.
