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Chandigarh Housing Board fails to convene board meeting as no project in the pipeline
As only two months are left of 2023, Chandigarh Housing Board was able to convene just two board meetings in February and May this year
With no major venture in the works and no complete project to show for the past four years, Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has not convened its board meeting for past six months.
As only two months are left of 2023, the board was able to convene just two board meetings in February and May this year.
Board member Hitesh Puri said, “Despite our requests to the authorities to hold a board meeting once in two months, they failed to convene. Most of the issues of people and employees are pending, but authorities are not paying any heed to it.”
CHB chief executive officer Ajay Chagti could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
Major projects, including the Sector-53 General Housing Scheme, were put on hold by UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit. In October 2022, the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had stalled the board’s highly-anticipated housing scheme at Rajiv Gandhi Technology Park in view of environmental considerations. With such colossal resource wastage, CHB is struggling to justify its existence.
At the present juncture, the CHB boasts a workforce comprised of approximately 300 regular employees, supplemented by an additional 200 engaged on contractual and outsourced terms. The monthly disbursement of salaries to this collective body amounts to a substantial ₹2 crore.
The board, an undertaking of the UT administration, was established in 1976 with a primary objective to provide reasonably priced, good quality housing for individuals lacking shelter within the union territory. As of March 2019, the CHB had successfully completed the construction of a total of 67,565 houses across various categories.
The operations of the board adhere to the regulations outlined in the Chandigarh Housing Board (Allotment, Management & Sale of Tenements) Regulations, 1979. The allocation of land for the construction of houses or flats is carried out by the UT administration on a periodic basis. In accordance with this allocation, the board initiates housing schemes and extends invitations for applications from the general public.
