CM sets 3-yr deadline to complete 17 lakh houses

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday directed officials of TIDCO and the housing department to complete construction of more than 17 lakh houses for weaker-section beneficiaries over the next three years. He said mass housewarming ceremonies must be held once every three months to ensure steady progress toward the state's ‘Housing for All’ goal.

Chairing a review at the Secretariat, Naidu reiterated that housing was one of the core election promises of the NDA government. He noted that over 3 lakh houses had already been completed since the NDA coalition took office. “This should not stop here. The programme must move faster. The Housing for All target must be fully achieved by January 2029,” he told officials.

Naidu said the government set a target of 20 lakh houses immediately after assuming power, with 3 lakh already completed. The remaining 17 lakh units must be completed within three years, he said, adding that 5 lakh houses should be ready for mass housewarming by next Ugadi.

“This programme should involve every field-level functionary, from top officials to ground staff. I will conduct a separate review with all TIDCO and housing department employees,” he said.

The Chief Minister instructed officials to avoid delays or errors in execution and to speed up the ongoing survey to identify additional eligible beneficiaries.

The final list must be prepared quickly and displayed village-wise for transparency, he said.

He also directed officials to allot house sites immediately if beneficiaries request land and issue possession certificates to those who already own plots.

Naidu said all updates on construction status must be placed online and that the programme should now encourage joint-family housing structures. He announced that in addition to existing PMAY 1.0 benefits for SC, ST, BC and PVTG communities, Muslim minorities would receive an additional Rs 50,000 each. For 18,000 beneficiaries, this would require Rs 90 crore, he said, instructing officials to clearly explain the enhanced support to communities.

He also directed the department to resubmit pending bills worth Rs 920 crore under the NTR Rural Housing Scheme (2014–19), which he said were blocked during the previous government.

Drawing a parallel with NREGA, he said similar bills from 2014–19 under that scheme had also been stalled earlier but were later regularised and reimbursed. “Do the same with these pending housing bills,” he told officials.

Officials briefed the Chief Minister that 8 lakh houses were built between 2014–19 and 5.80 lakh between 2019–24. Housing minister K Parthasarathy and senior officials participated.