G.O. (Ms.) No.37, Muthalamaicharin Veedugal Marukattumana Thittam, 2025-26

What the government order does

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (SGS.1) Department, through G.O. (Ms.) No.37 dated 14 March 2025, gives administrative sanction for the Muthalamaicharin Veedugal Marukattumana Thittam. It approves Rs.600 crore for reconstructing 25,000 houses during 2025-26, including a devolution grant of Rs.100 crore and State funds of Rs.500 crore.

Each reconstructed house will have a plinth area of 210 square feet and a unit cost of Rs.2.40 lakh. Each beneficiary will also receive 90 person days under MGNREGS. An additional 1 per cent of the total allocation will be provided for administrative expenses.

Who may qualify

The Muthalamaicharin Veedugal Marukattumana Thittam mainly covers rural houses identified through the Repairs to Rural Houses Survey. Key eligibility conditions include:

• The house must generally have been built under a government scheme up to 2000-01 and must now be beyond repair.
• Eligible categories include houses with tiled or sloped RCC roofs built under schemes such as IAY, THADCO and Scheduled Tribes schemes.
• Certain houses built by non-governmental organisations for 2004 Tsunami victims may be considered as a special case.
• The original allotment must be in the beneficiary's name. If the allottee has died, an eligible legal heir may be considered.
• The beneficiary must not own another self-built house or another house received under a government housing scheme.

Houses that have been sold, rented out or occupied by persons who are not legal heirs cannot be included. Houses owned by serving or retired government servants and specified public sector or government-linked employees, or their spouses, are also excluded, subject to the employment exceptions stated in the guidelines.

Selection and construction process

The Block Development Officer (Block Panchayat) will download the eligible list from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department portal. A Village Panchayat level committee will inspect the houses and recommend eligible beneficiaries. The final list must be approved by the Grama Sabha, while genuine claims from omitted applicants must be checked by the committee.

The District Collector, as Chairman of the District Rural Development Agency, will give administrative sanction. Payments will be credited directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts. Damaged houses and every payment stage must be geo-tagged.

Beneficiaries are encouraged to construct their own houses using the prescribed design. Toilets must be constructed at the same time, and the roof may use a Poly Urethane Foam panel or Reinforced Cement Concrete structure.