Hyderabad: The Revanth Reddy government is expected to unveil an affordable housing policy, the first such policy since the formation of the state. The Telangana Housing Board (THB) will be the nodal agency for the purpose, said an official.
It will mark a fresh lease of life for the Housing Board, which back in the day had developed colonies like KPHB in Kukatpally, Ameerpet, SR Nagar, Baghlingampally and Vengal Raonagar, among others. However, the board, which traces its origins to the Nizam era, currently cuts a sorry figure, despite boasting of a 700-acre dispute-free land bank
The BRS government neglected the board and failed to take up any projects for the middle class through it.
Revenue and housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy recently declared that the state government will take up construction of houses for the lower, middle and high-income groups on a ‘no profit no loss’ basis through the board.
A major portion of it, 573.16 acres is in Rangareddy district. The minister said that an area of 100 acres will be earmarked for the purpose across the four corners of the city.
If taken up, it would be a welcome measure as it will serve the lower and middle income groups, which have suffered with successive governments blaming skyrocketing land prices for not taking up housing projects.
However, a major hiccup before the board is shortage of staff.
The government had told the Assembly that of the 177 employees on the board’s rolls, only 43 were in regular service. The others include 13 (work charged), two on deputation, one on contract and 77 on outsourcing basis. Incidentally, by the year-end all the technical staff (engineers) in the board would have retired.
The BRS government took up the much-hyped double bedroom project through Telangana State Housing Corporation. But the corporation itself was weakened following transfer of its employees to other departments.
Many of them were recently called back to their parent organisation in a bid to strengthen it. Following its call, the corporation was flooded with 80 lakh applications from potential beneficiaries. Presently, the process of their verification is underway.
The government will take up construction of houses for 4.5 lakh beneficiaries after identifying the ‘needy’ among the 80 lakh in the first phase.
The Housing Board, which has stray land parcels adjacent to the houses constructed in 2011, will auction them in the first week of February. This is expected to fetch revenue to the tune of around Rs 500 crore.
