No power,no water,rehab flats lie empty

What more,nearly 2,000 families who were allotted the flats in the second phase refuse to move in because the flats have no access to electricity or water,have no drainage system and are far from where they live and work.

“Without electricity,it is impossible to live because one cannot access water. To carry water from ground floor to the flats on the second,third or fourth floors everyday is not easy,given these buildings are without a lift,” Rajesh Parmar,who was been allotted a flat,said.

“People living in slums in Manjhalpur have been shifted to Jambuva,with no easy access to transportation facility,which makes it hard for people to move everyday to work. This is against the mission statement of the JNNURM project which says flats should be allotted in nearby areas,” leader of Opposition in VMC Chinnam Gandhi said.

The corporation,which hastily launched the third phase of the project in March 2012 to avail funding under the JNNURM scheme whose mission period ended during the same month,is yet to complete the second phase,though officials said they hoped to allot the remaining flats by September-end.

“We plan to allot the remaining 2,864 flats in a month or two,as nearly 1,000 beneficiaries have submitted the required minimum amount of Rs 5,000 to enrol for the benefit. Also,the administration is working to ensure electricity to the flats,” executive engineer in VMC F J Charpot said.

On shifting the beneficiaries to far-off places,Charpot said the project was approved by the state-level steering committee and Centre’s monitoring committee.

“It is not possible because of city’s socio-economic situation. For houses to be built near the relocation site,availability of government land is needed,but this is not possible in several places in Vadodara,” he said.

Centre has funded 50 per cent of the project,while the state government has funded 20 per cent. Rest 30 per cent has been funded by the VMC.