BRS Cheated People with 2BHK Promise: Congress

Hyderabad: The Congress alleged that the BRS government had betrayed countless homeless families, whom it promised 2BHK houses but forgot all about them after coming to power.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin brought to focus the TRS government's negligence and its failure to fulfil promises made to the weaker sections over the past nine years.

Nizamuddin said that the BRS government, led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, had promised double bedroom houses for the underprivileged when it came to power in 2014. Even after nine years, there is still no clarity on when the 2BHK units would be handed over to lakhs of applicants waiting across Telangana.

"The BRS government has not only failed to construct adequate number of houses for weaker sections but has also failed to complete construction of sanctioned houses," he said. "Not even 10 per cent of the constructed houses have been handed over to beneficiaries."

Citing information from the Intensive Household Survey (IHS) conducted by the Chandrashekar Rao government in August 2014, the TPCC spokesperson highlighted the dire situation. Out of the 91 lakh households in Telangana, 45 lakh reside in single bedroom houses, 24 lakh in rented homes and 27 lakh families have no homes at all.

The population estimate has also increased from 3.51 crore in 2011 to approximately 3.81 crore presently, exacerbating the housing crisis.

Nizamuddin raised concerns over the dignity housing scheme launched in 2015. The scheme, which has an estimated spending of ₹19,000 crore, has sanctioned only 2,91,057 houses out of which 1,29,528 have been constructed, 58,350 are in final stages, and 40,651 are under construction.

He said the construction of remaining units have come to a halt due to the state government's failure to clear the dues of over ₹500 crore to contractors.

The Congress leaders demanded that the BRS government release a White Paper on 2BHK scheme detailing the number of houses sanctioned, constructed and those under-construction, district-wise details of applications received, approved and the number of beneficiaries who actually got the 2BHK units.