Hyderabad: Housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Wednesday announced that the govt is working to address the issue of unoccupied 2BHK housing units, particularly those located far from beneficiaries’ residences. Within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, the BRS govt approved approximately 92,000 2BHK houses. Of these, around 61,000 have been completed, while 21,838 are still under construction. Prior to the 2023 assembly elections, the govt allotted 23,500 houses. However, 12,000 remain unoccupied, mostly in Hyderabad, Sangareddy, Medchal, and Rangareddy districts.During question hour in the assembly, the minister stated that notices had been issued to beneficiaries, asking them to occupy their homes within two months or face reallocation. About 6,500 beneficiaries responded, of whom 4,000 expressed their inability to relocate due to distance. The govt has extended the deadline, and if beneficiaries still fail to occupy the houses, they will be reallocated to applicants living with 5 km radius. The minister added that future housing developments will be located closer to previous slum areas.Earlier, speaker Gaddam Prasad stated that the housing minister should have adhered to his prior recommendations, suggesting that many of the questions raised in the assembly could have been avoided. During the minister’s response on the the double-bedroom housing, the speaker intervened and reminded him of his earlier suggestion to conduct a district-wise review of the pending houses across the state. The speaker also noted that he had advised the minister to coordinate with district collectors to assess the progress of these housing projects. He opined that such a review would have provided greater clarity on grassroot-level issues.
