MHA to decide on UT employees’ housing plan, refunds: Admn to HC

Uma Shankar Gupta, additional secretary, estates, tells court that administration is not competent to modify/ fix prices of land already decided by the Union cabinet and will take up the matter with the ministry

The Chandigarh administration has told the Punjab and Haryana high court that as government employees have rejected its proposal on the 2008 housing scheme, a final call on the project will be taken by the home affairs ministry (MHA).

“ Since the Chandigarh administration is not competent to modify/ fix prices of land already decided by the Union cabinet it will take up the matter with the ministry of home affairs... to decide the final option including the option of returning the deposited amount to the applicants,” Uma Shankar Gupta, additional secretary, estates, told the court.

Gupta gave the information to the court as hearing resumed on the plea on Thursday by UT employees seeking early construction of houses.

On November 24, the employees in a letter to the UT adviser rejected the two fresh proposals of the administration for two housing proposals – a seven-storey project and another seven and 11-storey project – which were discussed in a meeting chaired by UT adviser Manoj Parida with employees’ representatives on November 17.

Around 4,000 flats were to be built in Sectors 52, 53 and 56 by the Chandigarh Housing Board for government employees as part of a scheme launched in 2008. The project comprised 252 three BHK apartments with servant quarters, 168 two BHK with servant quarters, 3,066 oneBHK and 444 single-room flats. A draw of lots was held in 2010, in which 3,930 employees among 7,827 applicants were selected.

They had then deposited around ₹57 crore with the Chandigarh Housing Board under the scheme. However, the project ran into rough weather as UT could not make available requisite land for the purpose.