Tamil Nadu sanctions Rs. 3,500 crore to build 70,000 houses under Vetri Veedu scheme

The Tamil Nadu Government has issued a Government Order allocating Rs. 3,500 crore for the construction of 70,000 houses for economically weaker sections in rural areas during the 2026-27 financial year under the Vetri Veedu Scheme.
The scheme is part of the Chief Minister’s ambitious Vetri Thamizhagam vision, which aims to construct five lakh houses for poor and vulnerable families in rural areas. The 70,000 houses will be taken up in the first phase.
According to the Government Order issued by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department Principal Secretary Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh will be provided for each house.
Beneficiaries can construct houses measuring between 360 and 500 square feet, including a kitchen. All houses must have reinforced concrete (RCC) roofs.
Priority will be given to families living in huts, houses with mud walls and structures with weak roofs. A door-to-door survey will be conducted in rural areas through a mobile application to identify eligible beneficiaries.
The preliminary list will be displayed at respective village panchayat offices for public scrutiny. The final list of beneficiaries will be published at panchayat offices and on the government’s website.
However, for the first phase of 70,000 houses, the government has also permitted the selection of beneficiaries from the existing list of houseless families maintained by the Rural Development Department.Construction materials will be supplied to beneficiaries in two phases, according to their requirements.
Additional financial assistance will also be facilitated for beneficiaries. Those requiring more funds can obtain loans of up to Rs. 50,000 through the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihoods Mission at an interest rate of six per cent.
Beneficiaries can also avail themselves of housing loans of up to Rs. 1 lakh through cooperative or commercial banks.
The government will provide an annual interest subsidy of three per cent on these loans for a maximum period of 15 years. Detailed guidelines for the loan arrangements will be issued separately. Eligible beneficiaries without individual toilet facilities will receive assistance of Rs. 12,000 for toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin. Five per cent of the total houses allocated to each district will be reserved under the discretionary quota of the District Collector. Priority under this allocation will be given to people affected by natural disasters and eligible beneficiaries left out of the survey.
Of the total Rs. 3,500 crore allocation, Rs. 2,600 crore will come from the State Government’s funds, while the remaining Rs. 900 crore will be sourced from the State Finance Commission grants provided to village panchayats. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Commissioner has been authorised to recover the latter amount in monthly instalments.
The government has also approved comprehensive guidelines for implementing the scheme during the five-year period from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Commissioner has been directed to ensure proper utilisation of funds, maintain construction quality and submit periodic progress reports to the
government.