Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has issued an official order allocating ₹3,500 crore to construct 70,000 houses in rural areas during the current year under the Vetri Veedu Thittam, the state's new housing scheme for families living in kutcha huts, according to reports of the order published on Friday, November 6, citing Tamil news outlets Polimer News, Daily Thanthi and Hindu Tamil Thisai.

Source: DailyTrendify

Under the order, each selected family will receive financial assistance of up to ₹5 lakh per house — an increase from the earlier unit assistance of ₹3.1 lakh. Each completed house must measure a minimum of 360 square feet and can go up to a maximum of 500 square feet, including the kitchen area, the reports said.

Priority in selection will go to families now living in temporary or vulnerable structures — huts made of leaves, grass, mud, bamboo or timber, and dwellings with cement-sheet walls, tin roofs, palm leaves, tarpaulins or asbestos sheets, according to the order's guidelines as reported.

Families that want to build a slightly larger house can take additional loan support: ₹50,000 at 6 per cent interest through the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihoods Mission, or up to ₹1 lakh through cooperative or commercial banks. The state will bear a 3 per cent annual interest subsidy on such bank loans for beneficiaries who repay their monthly instalments on time, the reports said.

From Budget Announcement to Ground Order

The Vetri Veedu Thittam was first announced in the state government's revised Budget for 2026-27, presented in the Legislative Assembly on August 5 by Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson in the TVK-led government of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. The scheme is run by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, and eligible families are to be identified through a fresh door-to-door survey rather than an online application, according to the scheme details published earlier.

Source: Live Chennai

The scheme design announced earlier gives high priority to widows, women-headed families, transgender persons, sanitation workers, released bonded labourers and disaster-affected families, reserves 5 per cent of each district's allocation for persons with disabilities, and earmarks 40 per cent of houses in every district for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households. Friday's order moves the scheme from announcement to sanctioned money; the door-to-door survey and district-wise beneficiary lists will decide which families are selected first.