Troubles for the Prideasia mega-housing project of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB),in collaboration with Parsavnath Developers Limited,at the Rajiv Gandhi Information Technology Park do not seem to end for either the developers or the CHB. At present,the project is under scrutiny by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC),which has summoned all files related to the land allotment. Adding to the woes,the approval for the basement plans is still awaited from the authorities even as a debate persists on whether the project should be allowed to continue as the proposed Chandigarh-Baddi rail link will intersect the project. Also,the CHB is yet to finalise the deadline for Parsavnath Developers to pay pending dues,including the bid amount. The reason cited by CHB Chairman Mohanjeet Singh: As the project has been hounded by controversy right from its inception,there is confusion on the exact date from when the project should be considered to be officially launched. According to the terms and conditions of the agreement between CHB and Parsavnath,the developer was supposed to pay the bid money of Rs 821.21 crore to CHB in six quarterly instalments within a period of three years. Out of this,the CHB claims to have received only Rs 517 crore. The terms specify that failure to pay the bid amount within the stipulated time will allow CHB to charge penal interest or even ask Parsavnath to forfeit the amount paid so far. The lapse of the contractual period would result in CHB taking control over the project. But officials at Parsavnath are optimistic about the future. The project has run into many hurdles but it will soon be on the right track, said an official at Chandigarh. Pradeep Jain,Chairman of Parsavnath Developers Limited,refused to comment on the issue. Another roadblock in Parsavnath being able to sell the units is the exorbitant prices of the flats. A one-room apartment is priced at over Rs 52 lakh,while two to five bedroom apartments go from Rs 1 to 3.5 crore and villas cost over Rs 6 crore. Cause for delay* Chandigarh-Baddi rail link to intersect project* Basement plans not approved yet* CVC has marked an inquiry into the project
