Two months after UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria directed the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to prepare a fresh presentation on the Sector 53 housing scheme, the board is now set to present it on January 17.
In November 2023, Kataria had instructed the CHB to submit the updated presentation by December 31.
Earlier, in August 2023, the then administrator Banwarilal Purohit had put the Sector 53 general housing scheme on hold, citing that it was not required at the time. As a result, CHB cancelled the ₹200-crore tenders floated on August 2 for constructing 340 flats on nine acres. The scheme had been revived in February 2023, five years after being scrapped in 2018 due to a poor response attributed to high flat prices.
A senior UT administration official stated that on January 17, the presentation will be made to chief secretary-cum-chairman of the board Rajeev Verma. Following this, the chief secretary will discuss the matter with the UT administrator.
CHB revises rates after poor response
Under the revived plan, the board proposed offering 340 flats in three categories: 192 three-bedroom flats, 100 two-bedroom flats, and 48 two-bedroom flats for economically weaker sections (EWS), priced at ₹1.65 crore, ₹1.4 crore, and ₹55 lakh, respectively.
When the scheme was initially launched in 2018, prices were higher: three-bedroom flats were priced at ₹1.8 crore, two-bedroom flats at ₹1.5 crore, and one-bedroom flats at ₹95 lakh. The scheme, touted as the city’s most expensive public housing project, attracted only 178 applications for 492 flats.
In November, Kataria also instructed the CHB to explore alternatives for its proposed housing scheme at the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP), which has been entangled in environmental disputes. The board was directed to consult all concerned departments to identify alternative plans for the site to facilitate environmental clearances. However, even after two months, the CHB has made no headway in this regard.
Additionally, administrator Kataria directed the CHB to evaluate the feasibility of participating in large government tenders for development and construction projects outside Chandigarh.