Chandigarh admn’s focus back on bringing more housing schemes
For years, Chandigarh admn has failed to introduce any new housing schemes, particularly affordable ones; meanwhile, housing prices have become less and less affordable
Plans are afoot to create new housing on more than 200 acres of vacant land in different sectors of Chandigarh.
Realising the ever-increasing housing demand and stagnation in new housing development for many years now, the UT administration is now planning to come up with new projects.
With no housing scheme coming either in the private or public sector in the city, housing prices have steadily increased, making owning a house out of bounds for most city residents.
In the absence of private developers, the city residents depend solely on the administration for new projects.
“The UT administration is considering developing around 215 acres of vacant land for new housing in Chandigarh. This is additional land in sectors, mostly in southern areas, that comes under the residential zone and has not been utilised,” said a senior UT official.
The issue was taken up at a recent meeting of senior UT officials on the implementation of the Chandigarh Master Plan-2031.
Estate Office and housing department have been directed to develop a model for general housing schemes with the vacant land. The UT engineering department, Estate Office and police have been directed to ensure the said land sees no encroachments.
“The model and strategy for development of the vacant area can include an outright auction of the land to private hands or construction of new housing under the public private partnership (PPP) model,” said the official, adding, “The new housing is likely to take a multi-storey apartment format instead of plotted development. The construction parameter like floor area ratio (FAR), coverage and population density will be determined by the already notified rules and norms, and the Chandigarh Master Plan-2031.”
No new housing supply since 2016
The administration, including the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), has failed to introduce any new housing schemes, particularly affordable ones, for several years now.
The last general housing scheme floated by CHB in 2018, in Sector 53, had to be scrapped because of poor response from the public.
Only 178 applications were received against the 492 flats on offer under the scheme, which was touted as the most expensive public housing project in the city’s history. The scheme offered three-bedroom flats for as high as ₹1.8 crore, two-bedroom flats for ₹1.5 crore and one-bedroom flat for ₹95 lakh. Even after the board slashed the proposed rates by 15% to attract more buyers, the response did not improve.
In its previous scheme in 2016 too, CHB had received lukewarm response because of affordability issues. Under the scheme, 200 two-bedroom flats were offered, for which around 225 applications came in. CHB started giving possessions in 2019.
One new general housing scheme by CHB, planned at the IT Park, is awaiting environment clearances.
Under the scheme, CHB plans to construct 728 flats in three categories in seven-storey towers on IT Park plots 1 and 2, which are spread over 16.6 acres, for the general public.
The scheme will have 28 four-bedroom, 448 three-bedroom and 252 two-bedroom flats. The expected flat cost ranges between ₹1.5 crore and ₹2.75 crore. The project land is part of 123 acres that CHB got back from Parsvnath Developers after a long-drawn legal battle.
A four-bedroom flat is likely to cost nearly ₹2.75 crore, a three-bedroom flat ₹1.90 crore and a two-bedroom flat ₹1.30 crore.
The towers will have two basements with provision for parking of two cars for each flat, in addition to surface parking for visitors.