Hyderabad: Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has announced that 1.03 lakh Indiramma houses have been grounded, with construction work progressing at full swing across the state.

During a review meeting at the Secretariat, the Minister stated that the government is providing 40 metric tonnes of sand free of cost for each Indiramma house. He instructed field-level officials to ensure that beneficiaries maximise this benefit. “The process of grounding Indiramma houses in the state is progressing at a rapid pace,” he said. “So far, about 3 lakh houses have been sanctioned, of which 2.37 lakh beneficiaries have been given sanction documents. A total of 1.03 lakh houses have been grounded, and construction work is ongoing at various stages.”

The Minister added that the government has set a target of constructing 4.50 lakh Indiramma houses across the state this year, with a budget of Rs 22,500 crore. This equates to an average of 3,500 houses per constituency. The selection process for beneficiaries has been completed in 88 out of 95 constituencies in the state, excluding the GHMC area. He instructed officials to continuously monitor the basement work of the grounded houses to ensure completion as soon as possible, especially with the monsoon season in mind.

Mr Ponguleti highlighted that despite the state government’s financial difficulties, payments are being made to beneficiaries every Monday without delay, based on the progress of the construction work. He emphasised that payments are being made directly to the bank accounts of the Indiramma beneficiaries in four instalments, eliminating any possibility of middlemen involvement. He specified that Rs 1 lakh is released after the completion of the basement, Rs 1.25 lakh after the completion of the walls, Rs 1.75 lakh after the completion of the slab, and Rs 1 lakh after the completion of the remaining works.