Chandigarh housing scheme before cabinet for approval

In what can be seen as a hope for thousands of employees of Chandigarh looking for an apartment in the city under the housing scheme, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has referred the scheme for approval to the Union cabinet. A status report on behalf of the ministry on the issue was placed before the Punjab and Haryana high court by assistant solicitor general of India Chetan Mittal on Monday. “Regarding proposal to allot 61.5 acres of government land to Chandigarh Housing Board for construction of apartments for 3,930 allottees under the self-financing housing scheme for UT employees. It is submitted that the final note for the cabinet duly approved by the competent authority has been sent to cabinet secretariat for placing before the cabinet at an early date for its decisions,” Mittal told the high court. The copy of the cabinet note prepared by the ministry for taking a decision was also submitted to the high court. Sources told it is clear that the self-financing scheme under which around 4,000 UT employees were to get houses in Chandigarh has not been shelved. Sources also added that the legal and the finance departments have also cleared the project and a final approval is to be given by the Union cabinet. The matter is pending before the high court in the wake of a petition filed by UT employees seeking directions for allotment of land under the housing scheme launched in 2008. The UT administration had offered 61.5-acre land to the housing board for construction of dwelling units to accommodate 3,930 employees under the self-financing scheme. To allot the land, permission from the Centre is required.