Chandigarh: CHB members to take call on Sector 53 housing scheme
The CHB has asked all members to respond within three days, indicating whether or not they wish to proceed with the scheme under the updated pricing. The move marks a crucial step towards launching the long-pending housing project — CHB’s only major residential offering since 2016.
In a fresh bid to revive its long-delayed General Housing Scheme in Sector 53, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has circulated an agenda among its board members, outlining revised flat prices based on the latest collector rates.
The CHB has asked all members to respond within three days, indicating whether or not they wish to proceed with the scheme under the updated pricing. The move marks a crucial step towards launching the long-pending housing project — CHB’s only major residential offering since 2016.
The Sector 53 scheme has faced repeated delays due to administrative indecision, fluctuating costs, and lack of consensus among board members. With environmental clearance already in place, the decision on pricing is now seen as the final hurdle before the scheme can be formally launched.
Last week, CHB secured the renewal from the environment department by paying a fee of ₹5 lakh. A year earlier, the board had obtained a similar clearance for the same project after paying ₹7 lakh. Notably, each clearance is valid for only one year, which adds to the urgency of taking a decision on the scheme’s future.
A senior CHB official confirmed the latest development, stating, “Agenda has been issued to all members of the board and they have been asked to furnish their view in a set format whether to go ahead with the scheme or not. In case majority of members are in favour, we will launch the scheme soon, official said.
After conducting a much-publicised demand survey, which received an enthusiastic response, the board has even started to refund the nearly ₹7.5 crore collected from the hopeful applicants.
The demand survey, which ended on March 3, saw 7,468 applicants vying for 372 flats across three categories — nearly 20 applicants per unit — reflecting a strong demand.
To confirm their interest, the applicants had deposited ₹10,000 for High-Income Group (HIG) and Middle-Income Group (MIG) flats, and ₹5,000 for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats.
However, a sharp hike in the city’s collector rates, which took effect from April 1, pushed the flat prices up by 35% to 40%, throwing the project into uncertainty.
When the demand survey was conducted, just weeks before the new collector rates were implemented, the estimated cost of the three-bedroom, two-bedroom and two-bedroom EWS flats was ₹1.65 crore, ₹1.40 crore and ₹55 lakh, respectively.
But under the new collector rates, the prices have risen to a staggering ₹2.30 crore for a three-bedroom flat, ₹1.97 crore for a two-bedroom flat and ₹74 lakh for an EWS flat, leaving officials pondering whether the interested applicants will still be willing to proceed at the higher prices.
Scrapped, revived, on hold again
The whopping 7,468 applications are in stark contrast to only 178 applications for 492 flats when the scheme was first floated in 2018. The low response, primarily due to steep prices, had ultimately led to the scheme getting dropped.
Back then, the three-bedroom flat was offered for as high as ₹1.8 crore, two-bedroom flat for ₹1.5 crore and one-bedroom flat for ₹95 lakh.
Struggling to justify its existence, the board revived the scheme in February 2023 with lower prices.
However, former UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit put the scheme on hold on August 3, 2023, citing there was no requirement for it.
But Purohit’s successor Gulab Chand Kataria, in November 2024, revived the scheme, prompting a fresh demand survey.
Established in 1976, with the primary objective of providing reasonably priced and good quality housing in Chandigarh, CHB had last successfully rolled out a housing scheme in 2016, when it had offered 200 two-bedroom flats in Sector 51 for ₹69 lakh each.
