Babus to get bigger, better homes
Soon, central government jobs will come with an added perk — bigger and better accommodation for the babus.
Soon, central government jobs will come with an added perk — bigger and better accommodation for the babus.
A year ahead of the 2014 general elections, the Centre is readying this plan possibly to woo its over 30 lakh workforce. After 15 years, the urban development (UD) ministry is in the process of revising the design specifications of all upcoming central government accommodation.
Currently, there are 80,000 (approximately) government accommodation across the country.
If all goes according to plan, decrepit furnishings, outdated electrical fittings, worn-out flooring and rusty pipes will be replaced with decorative lighting, modular kitchens, chrome-plated bathroom fittings, vitrified tiled floors and more.
The revised norms will also make the government quarters more spacious — 20% to 25% bigger than the existing ones.
Officials, on conditions of anonymity, said the revised specifications would result in around 40% increase in cost of building a new flat. The cost of refurbishing existing flats will also go up.
“Presently, an yearly allocation of Rs.150 crore (approximately) is made for renovating the flats across India. But revising the specifications had become necessary as old ones were out of sync,” said a senior ministry official.
The central public works department — which is mandated to build and maintain government flats — has already finalised the specifications and sent it to the UD ministry for approval.
