Complete double bedroom houses for poor first: TPCC

: TheCongress in Telangana Friday demanded that the state government first complete the construction of double bed room houses for the poor before constructing new buildings for the Secretariat and Assembly.

"Nearly 10,000 housing units for poor families or two buildings for the comfort of just 160 legislators: The choice is clear.

In a democracy, addressing the needs of poor people is more important than providing comfort to legislators, who are people's servants," Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin said in a release.

He alleged that only 16,370 of the total of 2,80,616 sanctioned double bedroom houses for the poor in 31 districts had been completed so far.

While a few thousand more units are in different stages of construction, work has not even begun in a majority of sites due to a shortage of funds, he alleged.

"More than 22 lakh families in Telangana do not own a house. They are living in rented houses, huts or dwellings.

The state government is unable to deliver on its promise for want of funds. Under this scenario, it is nothing but a waste of public money to go for construction of new buildings for the Assembly and Secretariat," he said.

The state government recently declared that new buildings for the Secretariat and legislature would be constructed in the city.