Spotlight

The scorching summer heat seeps through the fragile walls of T. Komuramma’s makeshift hut in Vedurugatta village of Choppadandi mandal, nearly 18 km from Karimnagar town in Telangana. But for the 60-year-old, the harsher burden is not the weather; it is the sight of a half-built pucca house standing incomplete at a short distance from her village.

Four years after Komuramma was allotted a double-bedroom house by the government, she is still waiting for the day she can move into it. “My joy knew no bounds when I was allotted the house near our village. But that happiness did not last long. The construction of 2BHK houses were stopped midway,” she says, her voice trailing into disappointment.

Seated outside her tiny hut with her son Srinivas, 40, she says, “He returned from the Gulf penniless a few years ago after being cheated by a fake job agent. A permanent house is not just a shelter; it is a sign of self-identity. My son is still unmarried as we do not have our own house.”

Srinivas is the family’s breadwinner, as his ageing parents rarely find farm labour work anymore. Though the family was informed that they were eligible under the Congress government’s Indiramma housing scheme, they chose not to apply for it. “My mother’s name is already in the earlier 2BHK scheme introduced by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government,” Srinivas says.

For now, the family can only wait for the unfinished structure to finally become a home. Their story mirrors that of several families across Telangana who were allotted houses under the State’s ambitious double bedroom housing programme, but continue to wait for construction to be completed.

Launched in October 2015 by the previous BRS government, the two-bedroom housing scheme promised fully subsidised homes for the urban and rural poor. Official figures show that 2,92,938 building units were sanctioned at an estimated cost of around ₹19,423 crore.

District Collectors accorded administrative sanction for the construction of more than 2.31 lakh houses, including nearly 1 lakh units within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits.

According to official data as of April first week, a little over 35,000 houses across the State were in the final stages of construction, with roofing and plastering completed, while work on another 33,000 units was in progress.

Revenue and Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy informed the State Assembly in March this year that construction of more than 1.62 lakh double-bedroom houses had been completed, barring some basic infrastructure facilities.

As per the latest available information, houses have been allotted to 66,150 beneficiaries in GHMC limits and 80,216 beneficiaries in rural and urban areas combined, taking the total number of allotments to 1,46,366.

However, apart from the nearly 68,000 houses currently under progress or nearing completion, administrative sanction or tender finalisation is still pending for another 61,732 units.

Alongside the unfinished 2BHK programme, the current Congress government is implementing the Indiramma Housing Scheme, under which ₹5 lakh assistance is being provided to economically weaker sections to construct houses on plots they already own.

A contrasting reality

Even as thousands continue to wait for a roof over their heads, a contrasting reality has emerged in parts of Hyderabad: several allotted 2BHK flats remain unoccupied.

The Telangana Housing Corporation had earlier issued notices to such beneficiaries, asking them to explain within seven days why the houses were unoccupied. Failing to respond, officials warned, could lead to cancellation and re-allotment.

Among those anxious about losing their flat are Sujata (name changed to protect identity) and her husband, both housekeeping workers employed in central Hyderabad. Every weekend, the couple travels nearly 20 km from their rented accommodation to their allotted 2BHK flat, switching between buses and autorickshaws to reach the housing colony. By Monday morning, they return to their rented room, closer to work.

“It is the fear of losing the flat that brings us here every weekend but our livelihood is there,” says Sujata, 40.

Their situation is not unique. Residents of several housing colonies on the outskirts of Hyderabad say many beneficiaries visit only on weekends while continuing to stay in rented homes closer to workplaces, schools and colleges.

“There are 19,656 flats in Kollur I, II and III at Edunagulapally. Around 50% have been occupied over the past 18 months,” says Gori Rahul, Assistant Engineer, Housing Corporation.

Prem Chandu, joint secretary of one of the 117 blocks in Kollur II, says the colonies visibly fill up on weekends. “The buses coming here on Saturdays are packed, and the same happens on Sunday evenings when people return,” he says.

The reasons behind the partial occupancy reveal another layer to Telangana’s housing challenge. Many beneficiaries say the flats are located far from their workplaces, with poor public transport connectivity adding to the hardship. Others cite unhygienic surroundings and the difficulty of relocating children from schools and colleges nearer to the city.

Ironically, while some allottees struggle to stay in the houses they have received, thousands of others continue to wait desperately for a home of their own.

For many low-income families in Hyderabad, the dream of a government house is driven by the crushing burden of rent. Beneficiaries say they spend anywhere between ₹3,000 and ₹6,000 a month for a single room with a kitchen and bathroom, depending on the locality; and this is an expense they hope permanent housing would finally erase.

Struggles of single women

For many low-income families across the State, the need for a permanent house is driven as much by dignity as by survival. Rising rents continue to consume a substantial share of monthly earnings, leaving little room for savings amid escalating living costs. The strain is particularly acute for single women who shoulder rent, children’s education and household expenses on one income. Any unexpected expense can push them into debt.

In Nizamabad town, 46-year-old Bagula Sabitha, a widow who runs a small beauty parlour, is struggling to keep her family afloat. Living in a rented house with her two teenage daughters, she pays ₹4,000 per month as rent while trying to meet their Intermediate education costs. Her husband died seven years ago, leaving her as the sole earning member of the family.

Though the family has an ancestral two-room house at Kanteshwar in the towm, it remains in a dilapidated state and is co-owned by her late husband’s brothers, leaving her with no practical housing option.

“If I had my own house, at least the rent burden would not be there and I could focus on my daughters’ education,” she says.

The stress is similar for G. Shoba, a 50-year-old beedi worker from Sanjeevaiah Colony in Nizamabad. After her husband died two years ago, paying ₹3,500 rent for a single-room house has proved increasingly difficult.

“I have married off my two daughters and now live alone. Due to health issues, I cannot work regularly or earn enough through beedi rolling,” she says, urging the government to expedite allotments.

Members of NGOs working for the homeless say single women and their children often require temporary shelter, as many landlords are reluctant to rent houses to them. NGO workers frequently help such women secure accommodation and find livelihoods. In some cases, the women lack an address proof required to apply for government housing schemes.

Jagan, a 38-year-old petty vendor from Chintakunta (Karimnagar) who lives in a rented house with his wife and three daughters, says his modest income barely covers household expenses. “I appeal to the authorities to complete the works and hand over the 2BHK flats without further delay,” he adds.

Residents in Karimnagar Municipal Corporation limits say the housing crisis is not limited to rising rents alone. Many tenants are also forced to endure humiliating conditions imposed by landlords.

One resident recalls a recent incident in which a landlord allegedly refused to allow relatives of a deceased tenant into the house until the completion of the 13-day mourning ritual. Consequently, the bereaved family had to spend several days in a room on the premises of a graveyard with nowhere else to go.

Bridging the gaps

Mounting concerns over vacant flats, delayed construction and accessibility issues have prompted the Congress government to recalibrate parts of the housing scheme.

Replying in the Legislative Assembly on March 25 this year, Minister Srinivas Reddy said over 12,000 allotted houses remained vacant as beneficiaries found it difficult to relocate far from their workplaces and daily lives.

The government subsequently decided to grant beneficiaries an additional two months to occupy the houses. If they fail to do so, the flats would be re-allotted to eligible poor families living within a five-kilometre radius of the respective colonies.

Telangana State Housing Corporation managing director V.P. Gautham said the government has also taken several policy decisions aimed at speeding up occupancy and completion of pending projects.

One such decision was to allot houses irrespective of the stage of construction, including partially completed units. Officials believe beneficiaries themselves would then actively pursue completion works and ensure better quality construction.

At a review meeting held recently, Srinivas Reddy directed officials to complete beneficiary identification and allotment of all pending 2BHK houses across the State by May-end.

In cases where contractors abandon projects midway, beneficiaries are being given the option to take over the houses in their existing condition and complete the remaining works themselves. The balance amount sanctioned for each house, after deducting expenditure already incurred by contractors, would be transferred to the beneficiaries.

Another key policy shift involves prioritising families living in non-RCC houses which includes huts covered with tarpaulin sheets, GI-sheet roofs and thatched houses, instead of relying solely on lottery-based allotments.

To tackle the issue of distant housing colonies remaining unoccupied, officials have also started identifying beneficiaries from within a five-to-seven-kilometre radius of the colonies, so as to make relocation more practical for working families and children attending nearby schools or colleges.

Gautham says nearly 25,000 houses are under construction in the Core Urban Region (CURE). “Of those, 10,000 will be completed by June and another 15,000 by September,” he explains.

The housing corporation, he adds, is factoring in socio-economic realities while coordinating with various departments to improve infrastructure in the housing colonies. Besides water and electricity supply, efforts are being made to strengthen transport connectivity and other civic amenities to encourage occupancy.

In Kollur, where thousands of flats remained sparsely occupied for years, habitation has gradually increased over the past 18 months. To support the residents, schools, anganwadi centres, additional bus services and a police outpost have since been introduced.

Officials say similar interventions are now being planned in other housing colonies even as the State government attempts to bridge the widening gap between housing allotment and actual habitation.