IT’S A Rs 192-crore question for the LDA that has been demanding an answer from the State Government for over a month now.
The money belongs to 23,614 applicants who are on the LDA’s wait-list since July when the development agency opened the booking of plots for its Vinayak and Vibhor Khand housing schemes in Gomti Nagar Extension.
The issue hit the headlines on November 3 when the then housing secretary restrained the LDA from going ahead with the scheduled lottery draw for the scheme till such time the area in question was fully developed. In compliance the development agency put off the lottery draw to be held on November 7, 8 and 9 for the scheme till such time the government granted permission for the same.
The cancellation of lottery was followed by LDA’s plea to the authorities on November 4 to reconsider their decision on the ground that the order in question should not be applied with retrospective effect on a scheme registrations for which were invited in June-July. In reply, secretary housing shot off queries and sought clarifications on certain points including the amount of development work that had been undertaken by the LDA in Gomti Nagar Extension as well as the scheme in question.
The LDA promptly submitted a 70-page reply giving a point-wise rejoinder in the first week of November. That was the last correspondence between the State Government and the development agency on the issue. Though the stalemate continues till date, the State Government in the meantime served marching orders on secretary housing. Instead of appointing his successor, the State Government chose to appoint DC Lakha as the new principle secretary housing, a post that was lying vacant for quite some time now.
{{/usCountry}}The LDA promptly submitted a 70-page reply giving a point-wise rejoinder in the first week of November. That was the last correspondence between the State Government and the development agency on the issue. Though the stalemate continues till date, the State Government in the meantime served marching orders on secretary housing. Instead of appointing his successor, the State Government chose to appoint DC Lakha as the new principle secretary housing, a post that was lying vacant for quite some time now.
{{/usCountry}}While the applicants are beginning to get restless, the wait for the LDA only seems to be filling its coffers with the interest accruing from the hefty amount it has obtained by way of deposits from the former.
“We would again take up the matter with the higher-ups in about a week’s time,” said LDA Vice Chairman BB Singh. However, if no decision is forthcoming by month-end, I guess we would be left with no option but to refund the money to the applicants, he added. The LDA, which had opened registrations for the housing scheme from June 5 to July 15, received a total number of 23, 614 applications. This includes 5,245 applicants for 112.5 square metre plots, 936 for 160 sq mt plot, 11,645 for 200 and 5,788 for 300 square metre plots.