Beneficiaries of Telangana’s Indiramma Indlu scheme face financial setbacks as soaring prices for building materials and labour increase costs beyond the ₹5 lakh subsidy, prompting innovative construction solutions and policy adaptations.
Many beneficiaries of Telangana’s Indiramma Indlu housing scheme are discovering that the state’s ₹5 lakh subsidy does not always cover the full cost of building a home. Rising prices for cement, steel, sand and labour have pushed several families into savings, borrowing or unfinished construction, even as the government pushes ahead with a large-scale housing roll-out.
One such beneficiary, a young man from Sangareddy district whose name was changed, said the cost of completing his house came to about ₹5 lakh more than the subsidy. His build took 9 months, delayed by rising material prices and a shortage of masons and workers, and his case reflects a wider pattern reported across the state: families taking hand loans or draining savings to keep work moving.
The pressure is particularly acute because the scheme requires beneficiaries to spend ₹1 lakh on the foundation before the first instalment is released. Officials say that has been difficult for many applicants, especially in Phase II, which began on June 1 and targets some of the poorest households. According to figures shared by Housing Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, housewarming ceremonies have been held for 1.35 lakh homes under Phase I, while slabs have been laid for another 1.25 lakh. The second phase aims to add 2.5 lakh more houses, on top of the 4.5 lakh planned in the first phase.
The state has also tried to tackle cost escalation by curbing overbuilding and trimming wasteful expenditure. In a government order issued on June 27, Housing and Revenue Secretary V.P. Gautham warned that many beneficiaries were extending slab projections well beyond the permitted three feet, sometimes to as much as eight feet, which was driving up costs and increasing the risk of debt. District officials have suggested tighter controls on slab size, simpler designs and better protection against rainwater without adding unnecessary expense. The government is also trying to ease supply bottlenecks by issuing sand tokens at the time of sanction and working with material manufacturers to reduce intermediaries.
Another option under review is shear wall construction, a method more commonly used in high-rise buildings. Under this system, walls and slabs are cast using moulds, allowing a house to be completed much faster and often at lower cost. Housing officials say the approach can bring the build time down to 15 to 30 days, and in some cases even less. It has already been used in places such as Asifabad and Aroor village in Sangareddy district, where one beneficiary said he did not spend beyond the subsidy apart from a metal staircase. But wider adoption remains limited because the method demands upfront payment to contractors, careful planning before casting and early coordination of plumbing and electrical work.
Officials are now considering whether women’s self-help groups could own the formwork and lease it to local masons, with payment collected later, reducing the immediate burden on beneficiaries. That model, they believe, could help expand the technology without forcing families to find large sums in advance. The idea has gained urgency as the scheme scales up: the state budget has allocated ₹5,500 crore for Indiramma Indlu in 2026-27, while officials say more than 2.6 lakh houses were under construction by March 2026. For now, though, the central problem remains the same , a housing scheme designed for the poor is still leaving many of them short of cash before the roof goes on.
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