Chandigarh: Anonymous complaints against CHB allottees to entail no action

The meeting was part of a series of consultations being held by the high-level committee with RWAs and other organisations on the regularisation of need-based constructions

No action will be taken on anonymous complaints against Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) allottees, as complainants will be required to submit affidavits, CHB secretary Sorabh Arora said during a meeting with resident welfare associations (RWAs) on Wednesday.

MP Manish Tewari raised the issue in Parliament and written to the chief secretary, seeking regularisation of need-based modifications. (HT File)

His remark came after Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi raised the issue, alleging that residents were often subjected to unnecessary harassment on the basis of complaints filed out of personal rivalry. Arora said that if a complaint is found to have been made with malicious intent, the complainant could face a ₹5,000 penalty, along with action in accordance with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines.

The meeting was part of a series of consultations being held by the high-level committee with RWAs and other organisations on the regularisation of need-based constructions and modifications carried out by allottees in housing board flats.

Gabi, who represents housing board residents of Sectors 45 and 46, pressed for a one-time regularisation scheme, saying the issue should not be restricted to minor alterations such as cantilevers, windows or changes to doors and windows. He suggested that the charges for regularisation should be calculated on the basis of land rates prevailing at the time the flats were originally constructed.

CHB houses, constructed with a proposed lifespan of 50 years, now have only around seven years left before their proposed redevelopment, Gabi pointed out. “Why should people’s homes be demolished for just seven years?” he questioned.

Gabi also raised the issue of representation on the CHB board of directors, demanding that people who actually live in housing board flats should be given representation.

MP Manish Tewari has also raised the issue in Parliament and written to the chief secretary, seeking regularisation of need-based modifications.