Telangana: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged the Centre to allocate 11,56,915 houses to Telangana under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).
He made the demand during a meeting with Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi.
The Chief Minister briefed him on the details of the construction of the ‘Indiramma Houses’ for poorer sections in Telangana.
The Chief Minister told the media after meeting Chouhan that issues mainly related to ‘Indiramma Houses’ and employment guarantee works were raised.
He said the Central minister responded positively regarding the housing issues. He also invited the Union Minister to visit the state to assess the situation on the ground.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Revanth Reddy informed the Union Minister that the state government has been giving priority to the construction of houses for the poor.
The Chief Minister apprised the Union Minister that demand for housing increased as the previous government failed to utilise the PMAY-G scheme. Lakhs of poor were left without homes for the past decade, he said.
Revanth Reddy stated that a survey conducted by the state government using the ‘Awaas+’ app—developed by the Union Ministry of Rural Development—had identified 11,56,915 eligible rural families. The Union Minister was requested to allocate the houses to Telangana at the earliest.
In view of the El Nino conditions, CM Revanth Reddy also requested Shivraj Singh Chouhan to include additional works under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Rural) (VB-G-RAM-G).
The Chief Minister brought to the attention of the Central Minister that the inclusion of additional activities in the scheme will improve livelihoods and promote crop diversification for SCs, STs, small and marginal farmers, and agricultural labourers, who are facing a lack of work due to deficient rainfall.
The CM requested Chouhan to include activities such as the construction of vegetable trellis structures, development of fodder plots, mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing sheds, kitchen gardens (for leafy greens and vegetables), and bamboo plantations on farmers’ lands under the VB-G-RAM-G scheme.
Revanth Reddy also highlighted the urgent need to incorporate works involving the construction of water-retention trenches on hill slopes, moisture-conservation trenches for existing plantations and orchards, and the restoration of lands damaged by floods and sand casting.
The Chief Minister noted that under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), beneficiaries of ‘Indiramma’ houses had the opportunity to undertake up to 90 days of work during the house construction process.
In view of high demand for work, the CM requested the Union Minister to approve the inclusion of additional works under the VB-G-M-G scheme. The inclusion of other projects proposed by the state government to meet local needs into the scheme was also discussed in the meeting.
MPs Dr Mallu Ravi, Vem Narendar Reddy, Porika Balaram Naik, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, Suresh Shetkar, Gaddam Vamshi Krishna, and M. Anil Kumar Yadav, Chief Minister’s Advisor Ramakrishna Rao and Secretary (Coordination) Advait Kumar Singh were also present.
