Hyderabad:The state government has strongly condemned allegations of inflating costs in construction of Young India Integrated Residential Schools (YIIRS) in Telangana. “All planning, design and other cost estimations of YIIRS underwent a rigorous review and approval process by a high-level management committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, in which several senior secretaries and heads of departments were members,” the government added.
Each YIIRS campus consists of integrating four individual existing schools of BC, SC, ST, and Minority students within a built-up area of approximately 5.36 lakh sq. feet. “It is to reiterate here that there never existed or prepared an estimate of less cost or any other revision of cost of this project since its inception,” it said.
“The YIIRS construction cost of ₹3,730 per sft.(SoR 2024-25) is significantly lower when compared with the projects undertaken during previous BRS regime such as Siddipet Integrated District Office Complex (IDOC Collectorate) (₹4,058/sft),Siricilla Medical College (₹4,990/sft), Jangaon Medical College (₹4,965/ sft), Mulugu IDOC (₹3,944/ sft) and Warangal IDOC (₹4,875/ sft). The cost is lower despite YIIRS being more comprehensive in scope — provision for academic, residential, health, dining, renewable energy, and sports infrastructure for over 2,500 students per campus,” it said.
“This comparison clearly demonstrates that the YIIRS project is cost-effective, transparent and based on a sound estimation methodology aligned with approved Schedule of Rates,” the government explained.
“It is unfortunate that it has become a recurring trend for Opposition voices to criticise every government initiative without due consideration of facts. Such unwarranted criticism not only delays or denies the intended benefits to marginalised communities but also undermines the morale of officials diligently working on the implementation of these welfare schemes. The allegations of inflated costs are baseless, misleading, and driven by political motives, and we strongly refute such unfounded claims,” the government stated.
