Crores go down the drain as homes for the poor crumble across cities

Time of India

16-05-2025

Ahmedabad/Surat/Vadodara: A criminal waste of public money is being witnessed in key cities of Gujarat, where despite hundreds of crores being spent on their construction, homes in 'new'
for the economically weaker sections (EWS), remain unallocated or uninhabitable, exposing their shoddy quality.
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Six months ago, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) demolished 1,664 unused houses in Vatva, built at a cost of Rs 55.20 crore. These units were part of the 18,928 houses constructed under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme before 2014 for Rs 500 crore.
"The 1,664 houses, which had been vacant for over a decade, had deteriorated significantly. An influential politician from the area had pressured to stop the allotment process," admits a senior AMC official.
The official further said, "A structural audit deemed them unsafe, prompting their demolition. Now, AMC has begun inspection of the remaining houses."
Nearly 4,000 units the 18,928 were never allocated for a long time — largely due to beneficiaries failing to pay the required Rs 65,000, leading to prolonged vacancy and decay. "The upcoming structural audit will guide AMC's next steps under the Public Housing Redevelopment Policy 2016," said the official.
AMC's standing committee recently approved Rs 81 lakh for SVNIT, Surat, to assess the structural stability of over 8,000 houses across 270 blocks in Vatva and Behrampura. No action has been initiated against the contractors. "Most of these houses were allocated to families displaced by the riverfront project," adds the AMC official.
The rot also extends to Vadodara where a Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) housing scheme in Sayajipura, comprising 1,196 units has been complete since 2019 but remains unoccupied.
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These homes for the urban poor, lack basic amenities like reliable water supply, and have been abandoned. "Even these beneficiaries have not paid their contribution for the houses yet. We got the blocks painted again and some minor work that remains can be done anytime," said a Vadodara Municipal Corporation official.
An elected representative pointed out that while the housing blocks may seem ready, but "without basic amenities like water, the houses cannot be handed over".
In Surat, where a Rs 19 crore housing project for the economically weaker section in Bhestan, developed in 2014-15, went into a state of dilapidation even before its tenth anniversary. This project of 270 apartments was constructed without crucial water and drainage connections.
With inputs from
Yagnesh Mehta