Decision to hire private consultant has been taken to compete with private builders and come out with the best designed flats, claim officials

punjab Updated: Apr 09, 2018 12:11 IST Hillary Victor
Hindustan Times, Chandigarh Failing for the fourth time to find bidders to develop 123 acres at Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCPT), Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has now hired a private architectural consultant to design 1,100 flats at IT park.

A city-based consultant ‘By Design’ will prepare its report in nine months, following which the construction will start.

The decision to hire a consultant has been taken to compete with the private builders and come out with best designed flats.

In 2015, Chandigarh Housing Board got 123 acres of land back from Parsvnath Developers. Till now, only government architect department were designing the flats for board.

CHB will be constructing 1,100 flats on 17 acres of land (two sites) which will include flats for Economically Weaker Section (EWS), one bedroom, two bedrooms and three bedrooms. It will be seven-storey flats with swimming pool and gymnasium in each block.

CHB senior official said, as per the present collector rates, the rate of two bedrooms will be Rs 60 lakh, while for three bedroom flat it will be Rs 90 lakh.

To develop 123 acres of land, drawings have been approved. There are a total of 20 sites, and the CHB will be constructing 1,100 flats on two sites. The remaining 18 sites will be auctioned to builder or developer, who will make the mandatory provision of gymnasium and swimming pool at the each site. There is also a provision for a club, which will have a community centre, a five-star hotel and a marriage palace, which will be developed by CHB. At each site, area will be earmarked for hospital, school and fire station.

CHD changes plan to attract buyers

With CHB finding no bidders in the past one year for its 18 sites, CHB has even changed its plan. To attract buyers, CHB has now planned to come up with a mall, five-star hotel and multiplex on the roadside of the same premises. All these will come up on 10 acres of land.

CHB also plans to come with a hospital on 8.23 acres, the reserve price for which is Rs 308 crore, and a school on 4.5 acres, the reserve price for which is Rs 188 crore. The residential plots of 4.55 acres previously had a reserve price of Rs 181 crore. Both the school and hospital sites are on leasehold, while residential sites are on freehold.

Why bidders not coming forward

Recently, CHB had written to the UT administration for changing commercial plots from leasehold to freehold and to slash their reserve price, as these were the main reasons for bidders to not come forward.

Indian Oil site under litigation

The only one site that CHB had sold on January 4, Indian Oil company for setting up compressed natural gas (CNG) pump at the cost of Rs 21 crore is under litigation now as two other companies namely Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have moved Punjab and Haryana high court alleging that they should also be given chance and bid should be reopened at IT park.

Area not developed over a decade

The board had got the 123 acres back from Parsvnath Developers in 2015 after a long-drawn legal battle.

CHB had decided to develop residential or commercial and other infrastructure at the IT Park with Parsvnath Developers Limited In October 2006. The amount deposited by the allottees was to be shared in the ratio of 70:30 between the developer and CHB.

Thereafter, the board transferred 123 acres as freehold to the builder. But the project could not materialise due to various issues, and applicants started demanding their money back, following which the builder moved court.

In January 2015, the arbitrator appointed by the apex court directed the board to refund â¹567 crore to the builder, and the land was returned to CHB.
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