Thursday, November 11, 2010

UT planning department does not respond to need based changes

Failure of UT urban planning department to respond to a request by Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) for allowing need-based changes in houses has left several applicants hassled.

In view of a large number of applications that poured for regularization of changes in the original layout plan after expiry of the last date in September, CHB had asked UT to allow acceptance of more applications.

But after waiting for over a month to hear from UT, CHB has decided to return the applications along with the amount deposited by the allottees. Sources said more than 55 applications have already been sent back and CHB had now stopped entertaining new demands.

This is not for the first time that the UT urban planning department has indefinitely sat on a proposal from the housing board. The draw for the UT employees scheme in Sector 52 and 56 had run into trouble due to delay in approval of the layout plan and CHB had a tough time in keeping its promise to hold it before Diwali.

After holding meetings with various residents associations, CHB had asked the residents to furnish a list of proposed-need based changes, which were forwarded to the administration for approval.

About 40 amendments in different categories of houses were notified by the Chandigarh Housing Board in March, 2010. The residents of these houses were told to make an application to the Chandigarh Housing Board for obtaining a comprehensive drawing for all categories of houses to avail the benefit of amendments and get the same regularized.

About 80% of the owners of different categories of houses are not in a position to construct a habitable room with toilet with 150 square feet coverage in the rear courtyard due to the rider provided in the earlier amendments

Necessary changes are required to be made on the lines of relaxation made in case of marla houses to enable the owners of the dwelling units of CHB houses to construct a habitable room and toilet in 150 sq. ft. area in rear courtyard.

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