Reprimanding the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), Union minister of tourism, housing and poverty alleviation Kumari Selja and Union minister for Parliamentary affairs and water resources Pawan Kumar Bansal said it was forgetting its primary function: ?to provide accommodation for the poor?.
The reaction of the two ministers comes less than a week after the scheme was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 14 on the plea that the scheme allows accepting any number of applications from a single person reducing the chances of genuine people and encourages wealthy. The scheme also has a clause that one can bid for higher amount and get assured allotment.
Selja said housing boards had been set up with the aim of providing affordable houses to the economically weaker sections. ?There needs to be a commitment to help the poor. The face of the housing boards is, however, changing. The rich can take care of themselves. If there is shortage of electricity, they can arrange for generator sets. However, care needs to be taken that the poor are looked after well,? she said. Selja added that the aim was to have a slum-free India, but not by bulldozing them. ?Efforts need to be made to rehabilitate the slum dwellers. The states that give property rights to the poor will be given funds under the Rajiv Awas Yojana,? she said.
The CHB had launched a housing scheme in Sector 51 where two-room flats are being constructed for around Rs 50 lakh each. The brochures for the scheme cost Rs 1,000 each.
Talking to FE CHB officials said, ?The scheme offers 160 two-bedroom residential flats each costing about Rs 50 lakh?. Surprisingly the brochure for the scheme costs Rs 1,000 each. In comparison, the Haryana UrbanDevelopment Authority keeps the cost of brochure and form for various scheme at Rs 100 each.