Most Odhav colony residents are not owners

AHMEDABAD: The reluctance of residents in the dilapidated EWS housing colony in Odhav to give up possession may in part be due to the fact that most of them are not recorded as owners in books of the government.
These flats had been given primarily to members of the Saranya community on the condition that they couldn’t be sold legally for seven years. But most flats handed over possession of the houses to others based on powers-of-attorney. And the flats continued to change hands.



The original residents received the houses at a cost of Rs 65,000 in 2004, and handed them over to others with Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh being the current rates.

“A survey by the AMC officials found that the beneficiaries who had initially been given these houses had sold them off and gone back to staying illegally in slums in open plots or lanes or bylanes,” said an estate officer of AMC. He admitted that around 90% of the residents of the EWS housing colony have changed.

Karan Pithiya a resident of Block 16 of the housing said, “We bought the house in 2008-09.

The owner sold it to us on a power-of-attorney, as it was not possible register the sale.” He said they continue to pay tax bills in the name of the original owner.

Nalini Parmar, also a resident of the area and a social worker, said, “Around 80% of residents in these blocks are not the first owners.”

A tea vendor in the area, who is also a broker, said “Before the collapse, these houses were sold for about Rs 5 lakh. There were several houses which were advertised for sale. Despite being dilapidated, they fetched good prices. This was over and above the pending instalments or government charges if any.”

A senior AMC officer said according to the rules houses built and handed over to economically weaker sections cannot be sold for 10 years, but in this housing scheme the moratorium was for seven years. Even if the houses were sold, the sale was to be notified in the AMC records. The officer said “The new owner has to pay Rs 1,000 for the transfer in the AMC records, but there are no records of transfer of ownership.”