Telangana Housing Board Faces Crisis Amidst Inactivity, Fund crunch

The board hasn’t been allowed to take up any schemes since the formation of Telangana under the BRS regime.

Officials are worried that in a few months the board will be hard pressed for funds to pay salaries and pensions. Rent overdues from the government for its properties stand at Rs 100 crore.

Officials contended that the rot had set in during the YSR regime, which saw it as a cash cow to fund the Jala Yagnam programme to build irrigation projects.

The BRS’s flagship scheme of double bedroom houses was given to different bodies like the GHMC, R&B and the board was finally merged into the R&B. They pointed out that they had proposed 10 projects to the BRS government in 2017 but were ignored.

The Housing Board does not even have a properly functional website. The last press note issued by the department was on 30/1/2013. The corporation does not have a fulltime vice-chairman, housing commissioner or a chief engineer. Of the sanctioned strength of 290 personnel, there are only 45 regular employees while a few work on contract and outsourcing basis.

The disgruntled employees are hoping that the Congress government will restore its independent status by demerging it from the R&B department.

“We have been collecting dues from former beneficiaries of our houses for the past 10 years. With division of assets remaining unsettled with AP, a land bank of 3,200 acres is caught in litigation. The Sheela Bhide committee recommended division of assets with AP in the ratio of 52:48, though 95 per cent of the assets are in Telangana. Further, the corporation has a land bank of 700 acres, which is dispute-free and is valued at around Rs 25,000 crore,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

Pending division of assets in court, the board is paying pension to the tune of Rs 2 crore to employees hailing from Andhra Pradesh. The employees are hopeful that the government gives a fresh lease of life to the board and to them.