Vetri Veedu scheme: Govt sanctions Rs 3,500 cr to build 70,000 houses

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 3,500 crore for the construction of 70,000 houses in rural areas during 2026-27 under the first phase of its 'Vetri Veedu' scheme.

According to a Government Order issued by Rural Development Secretary Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, the scheme aims to provide concrete houses to poor families living in huts across rural Tamil Nadu.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries will receive Rs 5 lakh each to construct houses measuring 360 to 500 sq ft, with a kitchen and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) roofing. The beneficiaries will have to undertake the construction themselves.

The assistance will be disbursed directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts in four instalments based on the completion of the foundation, window-level construction, roofing and the entire building. Those with insufficient land can construct houses with ground and first floors. A separate assistance of Rs 12,000 will be provided for toilet construction to beneficiaries without toilet facilities.

Beneficiaries will be identified through existing houseless family lists, re-surveys and a fresh hut census. Families living in huts, mud-walled houses and houses with weak roofing will be eligible, provided they possess a patta or other ownership document.

Families with an annual income exceeding Rs 2.5 lakh and those who have already benefited from government housing schemes will be excluded. Widows, destitute women, transpersons and ex-servicemen will receive priority.

Five per cent of the houses will be reserved for persons with disabilities and another five per cent under the District Collector's discretionary quota. Forty per cent of the allocation will be earmarked for SC/ST beneficiaries and 60 per cent for others.

Beneficiaries can also avail themselves of bank loans up to Rs 1 lakh, with a three per cent interest subsidy for those who repay the loan regularly, for a maximum period of 15 years.

The beneficiary list will be displayed at panchayat offices and on the Rural Development Department website tnrd.tn.gov.in.