Hyderabad: Telangana housing programme turned into a political battleground after Revenue and Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy challenged BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao over housing construction targets in Hyderabad.
During a media briefing at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the Congress government would construct more houses in the next two-and-a-half years than those built during the ten-year BRS rule.
The minister declared that he would not contest the next Assembly elections if the Congress government failed to surpass the housing numbers achieved under the previous administration. He also questioned whether KTR would stay away from elections if the Congress government exceeded those figures.
Ponguleti addressed the media along with ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Mohammed Azharuddin and MLA leader Rajender. He criticised BRS leaders for making remarks against the government’s housing initiatives.
The minister said the Congress government planned to seek votes in villages where Indiramma houses were constructed. He also announced that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy would soon lay the foundation stone for one lakh Indiramma houses in the Cure area within the Outer Ring Road limits.
Telangana housing programme targets urban redevelopment
Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the government planned to sanction another one lakh houses for urban areas during the third phase of the programme. According to him, authorities were treating every Assembly constituency as a separate unit for housing construction.
He stated that officials identified nearly 40 locations within 12 days after beginning inspections across 24 Assembly constituencies. The minister said authorities would build houses on government lands ranging from 1,000 square yards to 25 acres.
Ponguleti also said several housing blocks constructed nearly four decades ago in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts had become unsafe and dilapidated. He stated that the government planned to redevelop old G+2 housing structures and provide improved living conditions for poor families.
Earlier, the minister inspected multiple locations, including Jiyaguda Police Quarters in Asifnagar, Mangar Basti, Bombay Colony, Nampally Red Hills, Malakpet and Falaknuma.
During the inspections, Ponguleti directed officials to accelerate preparation of housing plans on vacant government lands and old housing sites. He also interacted with residents and reviewed civic problems in damaged housing colonies.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Minority Welfare Minister Mohammed Azharuddin, MLA Majid Hussain and other public representatives participated in the inspections.
