UT splurging on officers' houses amid maintenance blues for govt housing
2
Chandigarh: The govt housing in several sectors is facing acute maintenance issues with cracked walls, leaking roofs, jumbled electric wiring, and doors in shambles.
A govt employee and resident of Sector 23 said, "Every rainy season, the roofs of our houses leak heavily.
There is water everywhere. Our television sets, beds, and other furniture get badly damaged during heavy rains.
Even in cases when the overhead water tank overflows, the roof leaks and causes damage. A temporary solution was provided, but no permanent solution has been given so far."
Employees also complain of other issues. "There are several houses in which wooden work has outlasted its life. In many cases, doors and windows are broken wherein only patchwork has been done to keep the appearance of a door or a window," said an employee living in Sector 27.
It is not only the houses where employees are living, but there are hundreds of vacant houses that are in dire need of maintenance. "Even bigger houses, reserved for senior officers, which are vacant, are in shambles in many places. Recently, while checking for a house for a senior officer, we came across a number of large houses in sectors like 22 and 25, which are lying vacant and are in very poor condition. The flooring is broken, and the electric wires are dangling dangerously.
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It seems that no attention has been paid to the upkeep of vacant houses."
Meanwhile, for some senior officer houses, the administration is splurging heavily on aesthetics and amenities. "Recently, around Rs 2.5 lakh was spent on landscaping of a govt house in Sector 5. Similarly, around Rs 4 lakh was spent on shower enclosures in houses of two senior officials in Sector 16 and Sector 24," shared another UT employee.
A UT official said, "Some of the govt houses are more than 60 years old.
There are issues with the roof setup, which in heavy rains can leak. For most of the other sectors, the engineering department is either in the process of issuing fresh tenders or has already taken up major maintenance works. Some personnel were also recently reshuffled to improve the maintenance work."
**BOX1: In **
Total houses: 11,922
Allotted houses: 10,736
Vacant houses: 164
Under maintenance: 417
Under bidding: 605
**BOX2: Redensification**
The plans for redensification in the heritage sectors after demolishing old govt housing have not found favour with the heritage panel.
Instead, the administration is focusing on re-utilisation, under which the existing single-storey or double-storey old govt housing is demolished and replaced by new construction as per the existing zoning plans and building bylaws of the city.
**BOX3: NEW PLANS**
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.
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