HC Grants Relief To 4,000 Chandigarh Employees In Housing Scheme
The Chandigarh Housing Board was supposed to build approximately 4,000 flats in Sectors 52, 53, and 56 for government employees under the scheme
On Thursday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that employees of the Chandigarh administration who applied for the 2008 Self-Financing Employee Housing Scheme would receive their flats at the rates specified in the 2008 brochure.
Senior advocate Anupam Gupta, one of the counsels in the case, stated, "The high court has allowed the employees' petition. The bench declared in open court that the 2008 brochure rates would be applicable and that the 2012 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification, which set land rates at commercial levels, would only have a prospective effect." The detailed judgment from the bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Lalit Batra is still awaited.
The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) was supposed to build approximately 4,000 flats in Sectors 52, 53, and 56 for government employees under the scheme. A draw of lots was conducted in 2010, selecting 3,930 employees out of 7,911 applicants. These employees deposited around ₹57 crore with the CHB as part of the scheme.
However, the project faced significant delays as the administration failed to provide the necessary land. By October 2013, frustrated with the UT administration's procrastination, the employees approached the high court, demanding that the flats be allotted at the 2008 rates within a specified time frame.
Tragically, over the past 16 years, approximately 100 employees who had opted for the scheme have passed away.
