Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday handed over the first instalment of 3 lakh houses worth Rs 3,600 crore to Andhra Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin 2.0. The event was held at Burripalem village in Guntur district in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Chouhan said officials had initially proposed only 76,000 houses, but the allocation was raised to 3 lakh after Naidu insisted every poor family in the state should have a permanent home. Naidu has sought another 6 lakh houses, and Chouhan assured that more tranches would follow once construction is complete.

The leaders also laid the foundation stone for the country’s first pilot housing project using 3D concrete printing technology, comprising 177 houses at a cost of Rs 14 crore in Burripalem and Obulnayudupalem. The pilot aims to cut construction time, costs and labour, with completion targeted in six months.