Several beneficiaries of Telangana’s double-bedroom housing scheme continue to wait for their allotted homes as construction remains incomplete. For several low-income families, rising rents and cost of living have deepened financial stress, turning the dream of a permanent house into an urgent necessity. But in a contrasting trend, several allotted flats in Hyderabad remain unoccupied. What steps is the government taking to complete pending works and improve occupancy in the housing colonies? K. Shiva Shanker, P. Laxma Reddy and P. Sridhar uncover the ground realities