CHANDIGARH: More than 600 new houses are among a slew of major developmental works planned by the UT administration in the coming financial year.
In addition to govt housing, the UT engineering department has included the construction of the new DC Office in Sector 17, four new auditoriums in city colleges, hostels, elevated road connecting Khudda Lahora to Sarangpur, new box culverts at Bapu Dham, and two new railway underbridges (RUB) at Kishangarh and Chandigarh-Baltana border.
In the education sector, the engineering department will take up the construction of new hostels like in CCET, and the upgradation of four auditoriums will be done in different higher educational institutions.
The auditoriums, including two heritage ones, in govt colleges are set for major upgradation at a cost of around Rs 50 crore. Two auditoriums, having a heritage status, in Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 11, and Post Graduate Govt College, Sector 11, will be upgraded.
The development of the Police Training Centre in South Campus and IRB in North Campus, Sarangpur, is another big-ticket infrastructure project. The Rs 98-crore project will be spread over 30 acres.
“It will comprise hostel blocks having separate hostels for both male and female candidates. Space has been reserved for the officers’ quarters within the complex. Also, with emphasis on physical fitness and training of the cadets, the facility will have a stadium,” said a UT official.
The complex will have a theatre and seminar hall, multipurpose indoor games hall, parade ground, and obstacle course for the training of the cadets. In addition to these, there will be two administrative blocks, an armoury block, and a healthcare facility within the campus.
The new state-of-the-art DC building will cost around Rs 125 crore, and construction will start in the new financial year.
Major push to government housing
“There will be housing for the police department and general housing for the UT employees. Dhanas, sectors 20, 43, and 46 are identified as the locations for the construction of the houses. The financials and development plans are being prepared. Construction will start after taking requisite approvals, which is likely in the coming financial year,” said a senior UT official.
“There is very limited scope for redevelopment of the existing housing, so the administration has to focus on new developments,” said the official.
Around 150 houses are planned under the police housing project in Dhanas, besides 200 general houses in Sectors 43 and 46. To meet this demand, the available land parcels and existing old housing will be tapped into. Around 150 houses are planned on the land reclaimed after demolishing the sewermen colony in Sector 20, said the official. The colony spread over around 2-3 acres has 116 houses.
The need for govt housing has increased tremendously in the city in the past few years. The demand pressure is not only from the UT but also from Punjab and Haryana.
Currently, in all pool categories, there are 13,825 housing units. Of these, 11,923 are in the general pool category and 10,989 are allotted. In several categories of houses, particularly in the type 10, 11, 12, and 13 categories of houses, the demand is much higher than the housing available.
