Case stalls low-cost housing project

After the cancellation of the DB Realty project to build low-cost houses for the poor,the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) had in October 2011 taken upon itself to construct 5,040 homes under the Basic Services to Urban Poor,and 2,750 homes for the Middle Income Group and High Income Group.

After the cancellation of the DB Realty project to build low-cost houses for the poor,the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) had in October 2011 taken upon itself to construct 5,040 homes under the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP),and 2,750 homes for the Middle Income Group (MIG) and High Income Group (HIG). However,the township project is yet to start as a case regarding the cancellation by DB Conwood and Man Infrastructure is pending in the high court.

We are awaiting the court decision before starting the project, said PCNTDA chairman Yogesh Mhase. Even as the project was to take off,the ase has stalled the development,he added. The hearing has not taken place yet, said Mhase.

Former divisional commissioner Dilip Band had cleared the project but it never took off. It was supposed to be completed in two years. However,citing the delay,the central government had cancelled the DB realty project and subsequently the PCNTDA scrapped it. The project entailed making low-cost (Rs 1-1.5 lakh) houses available to residents. Now,we will have to initiate the tendering process once again and build 8,000-10,000 houses on our own. It will take another three years for the township to be ready, officials said.

DB Realty Ltd had contended that its Rs 400-crore township project was cancelled by PCNTDA without citing any reason. Band had said the project was cancelled because PCNTDA could not take the allotted money from the central government. The Centre had sanctioned Rs 150 crore under JNNURM for the project,which was to come up in Sector 12. Besides,Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Babar had approached the court and the chief minister complaining about irregularities in allotment of the project.

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