CHB Sector-53 housing scheme sees strong interest: 500 applications for 372 flats in 4 days

Launched on February 22, the Chandigarh Housing Board’s (CHB) demand survey for the proposed general housing scheme in Sector 53 is already showing promising results.

In just four days, the board has received 500 applications for the 372 flats on offer, with the survey set to conclude on March 3, 2025.

Officials are anticipating more applications before then, suggesting high demand for the project—the first CHB offering in Chandigarh since 2016.

The demand survey is being conducted to assess whether there is enough interest to proceed with the scheme, comprising 372 flats in three categories—192 three-bedroom HIG units, 100 two-bedroom MIG units and 80 two-bedroom EWS flats.

The applicants are required to deposit a fee of ₹10,000 for HIG and MIG units, and ₹5,000 EWS unit as confirmation of interest in the scheme, which will be adjusted in the earnest money deposit (EMD) when the scheme is launched. The applicants can deposit the fee at CHB office, Sector 9-D, by the March 3 deadline.

In case, the applicant decides not to participate further after the scheme’s launch, the whole amount will be forfeited.

On January 17, UT chief secretary Rajeev Verma, who is also the chairman of CHB, had asked the board officers to conduct a fresh demand survey after they gave a presentation for the scheme’s revival. The board had last conducted a similar survey in 2018.

After carrying out the demand survey, a final presentation will be made before Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria.

Notably, former UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had put the housing scheme on hold on August 3, 2023, citing there was no requirement for it. Consequently, CHB had cancelled the ₹200-crore tenders floated on August 2 for construction of 340 flats on nine acres.

But hopes for the scheme’s revival were rekindled after Kataria, in November 2024, instructed CHB to submit an updated presentation.

Scheme scrapped previously amid poor response

The scheme was previously also scrapped in 2018 due to poor response from buyers, primarily due to high flat prices. But it was revived in February 2023 with lower prices— ₹1.65 crore, ₹1.40 crore and ₹55 lakh, respectively, for three-bedroom, two-bedroom and two-bedroom EWS flats.

When the scheme was first floated in 2018, 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. But owing to the exorbitant rates, the response was lacklustre, reflected in only 178 applications for 492 available flats. This led to the scheme being scrapped.

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.