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Journalism of Courage
While the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has not constructed a single house under the general housing category,its much-hyped project of slum rehabilitation is also moving at snails pace. Reason: Scarcity of funds and the fact that the board is busy handing the Parsvnath issue.
The board justifies that under-privileged people are more important than general public and that is why the general category scheme has lagged behind. Meanwhile,under the slum rehabilitation project,512 one-bedroom flats in Sector 38 West have been handed over,while another 608 one-bedroom flats are under construction in the same sector. Another set of 576 one-bedroom flats in Ram Darbar is nearing completion and are expected to be completed by August. The deadline of the project is 2011,and by that time,the board is expected to construct 25,728 such flats. It,however,appears as a distant dream,as no new work has been started by the board for the last one-and-a-half years till now.
Speaking to Newsline,CHB chairman Mohanjeet Singh said,We know our commitment. Yes,there have been problems after the Parsvnath project was scrapped but we are quite determined to complete the project. We might extend the deadline but will finish the project.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1,450 crore,and the Parsvnath Developers had to pay nearly Rs 1,200 crore more,against its residential project in the IT park. Till now,the developers have paid only the first installment of Rs 512 crore. The project was more or less dependent on the Parsvnath funding,and its fate seems to be in doldrums now.
In a private-public partnership model,Parsvnath had been allotted land in IT park and was to pay money for slum rehabilitation projects. Now that it has entered into rough weather,the project has come under scanner with both the Centre and CBI investigating the matter. This development has left board busy filing replies,taking its attention away from the projects. Besides the residential projects,another project of constructing underpasses to clear traffic congestion in the city is also pending with the board for over three years now. The residential project in Sector 63 has been pending for more than two years now.
Pending projects:
* Construction of one-bedroom flats for slum developers
* General Housing society in Sector 63
* Underpasses at Matka Chowk,Press Chowk and Transport Chowk
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