HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched an app to verify applications received for the construction of houses under the Congress government’s ‘Indiramma’ housing scheme for the poor. The scheme provides Rs 5 lakh in assistance to beneficiaries. Since assuming power a year ago, the Congress government has received applications for the construction of houses.
To prevent malpractices in the beneficiary selection process and ensure that applicants don’t have to visit offices, the government has decided to verify the applications by visiting applicants at their current homes.
Government personnel will input details such as the applicant’s financial status, plot information for house construction, and family details into the mobile app, according to an official release.
The government has decided that it will not prescribe a specific design for house construction. Instead, beneficiaries can build houses according to their preferences, based on their financial status and the available land size.
Additionally, the government plans to construct 25 lakh houses under the scheme over the next five years, the release said.
Speaking after launching the app, Revanth Reddy emphasised that technology, including Artificial Intelligence, would be leveraged to ensure transparency and prevent ineligible individuals from receiving benefits.
Reddy noted that “the poorest of the poor” would be given top priority in the beneficiary selection process. Dalits, Adivasis, STs, agricultural workers, sanitation workers, persons with disabilities, and transgenders would be prioritised under the scheme.
He stated that Adivasis residing within the jurisdiction of Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) areas would receive special attention in the beneficiary selection process.
Alleging that the previous BRS regime had completed only about 65,000 of the 1.52 lakh double-bedroom houses it promised for the poor, Reddy said the government had released Rs 195 crore to complete the construction of the remaining houses.
He further claimed that while the BRS regime built a lavish camp office-cum-official residence for the chief minister, a new Secretariat, farmhouses, and party offices in districts, it failed to complete the double-bedroom houses for the poor.
Referring to the frequent attacks by BRS working president K T Rama Rao and senior MLA T Harish Rao against the Congress government, Reddy suggested that BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao should correct his son, Rama Rao, and nephew, Harish Rao, given his seniority.
“I am making a suggestion to Chandrasekhar Rao. If your children behave mischievously, as the family elder and party president, you should tell them that some time should be given to the Congress government to work,” he said.
Referring to Maricha and Subahu in the Ramayana, he said it is improper for the two BRS leaders to attack the Congress government and create obstacles.
Reddy also alleged that KCR created an atmosphere where ruling and opposition parties lacked harmony, behaving as if they were enemies.
The chief minister also announced that Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar would invite Chandrasekhar Rao, along with Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, to the first anniversary celebrations of the Congress government in the state on December 7, 8, and 9, near the Secretariat complex.
