Telangana Seeks 11.57 Lakh PMAY-G Houses, Expands Rural Employment Works

Revanth Reddy seeks 11.57 lakh PMAY-G houses for Telangana, urges Centre to expand rural employment works. NEW DELHI: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged the Centre to allocate 11,56,915 houses to the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), while also seeking the inclusion of additional livelihood and natural resource management works under the Centre's rural employment programme to address the impact of deficient rainfall. The Chief Minister met Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi and presented the state's housing and rural development requirements. During the meeting, Revanth Reddy said the Telangana government has accorded top priority to providing permanent housing for poor families since assuming office. He informed the Union Minister that a survey conducted using the Union Ministry of Rural Development's Awaas+ application had identified 11,56,915 eligible rural households awaiting assistance under PMAY-G. The Chief Minister said the previous state government had failed to effectively utilise the PMAY-G scheme, leaving a large number of eligible families without financial assistance to construct their own homes. He requested the Union Government to sanction the identified houses at the earliest to meet the long-pending housing demand in rural Telangana. Revanth Reddy also highlighted the challenges posed by El Niño conditions and inadequate rainfall, stating that many rural households, particularly agricultural labourers and small farmers, were facing a shortage of employment opportunities. To strengthen rural livelihoods, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to expand the scope of the 'Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajivika Mission (Rural)' (VB-G-RAM-G) by including works tailored to local conditions. He said such interventions would support crop diversification while creating sustainable employment opportunities for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, small and marginal farmers, and agricultural workers. Among the activities proposed for inclusion under the scheme are the construction of vegetable trellis structures, development of fodder plots, mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing sheds, kitchen gardens for vegetables and leafy greens, and bamboo plantations on farmers' lands. The Chief Minister also sought approval for works related to water conservation and land restoration, including water-retention trenches on hill slopes, moisture conservation trenches for existing plantations and orchards, and the rehabilitation of agricultural lands damaged by floods and sand deposition. Revanth Reddy further pointed out that beneficiaries constructing Indiramma houses had earlier been eligible for up to 90 days of wage employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). He urged the Centre to approve additional works under the expanded rural employment framework so that housing construction could simultaneously generate employment and strengthen rural infrastructure. The Chief Minister also requested the Union Government to incorporate other projects proposed by the Telangana government into the scheme, allowing greater flexibility to address local development needs. Members of Parliament Dr. Mallu Ravi, Vem Narender Reddy, Porika Balaram Naik, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, Suresh Shetkar, Gaddam Vamshi Krishna and M. Anil Kumar Yadav accompanied the Chief Minister during the meeting. Chief Minister's Advisor Ramakrishna Rao and Secretary (Coordination) Advait Kumar Singh were also present.