Second CHB small flats survey : Board finds 222 flats occupied by ‘others’, 38 deny information

The Chandigarh Administration has been conducting a survey of all small flats after it received inputs that original allottees had given away the dwelling units to others.

The second round of inspection was completed by November 6 and the report was compiled Wednesday and sent to the Chief Executive Officer of CHB, Yashpal Garg.

The new report sent to the CEO revealed that as many as 222 dwelling units were found retained by ‘others’ of which the highest, 98, were found in the small flats in Dhanas, 48 in Sector 56, 20 in Sector 38 West, 12, 13 and 14 in Sector 49, Ram Darbar and Mauli jagran, respectively, and 15 in Maloya.

The report further stated that as many as 636 units of these 1,268 were found locked again. Of these, 280 were found locked in Dhanas, 70 were found locked in Maloya, 60 and 61 in Sectors 56 and 38 West respectively, 41, 46 and 47 in Sector 49, Mauli Jagran and Maloya respectively, among others.

Also, there were a total of 38 occupants who denied to give any information to the CHB team. A total of 12 such occupants were from Dhanas. While one unit had already been sealed by the board, three belongs to the government.
The administration stated the allotted flats cannot be sold/ sub-let/ transferred/ handed over to others and there have been some unconfirmed complaints that some of the allottees have violated these rules and given away their flats in an unauthorised manner.

“Since such flats cannot be sold/transferred, these instances may be clear cases of violation of terms and conditions and it may also attract criminal case for committing fraud. The allottees who have illegally sold/ sub-let/ transferred the flats and purchasers both are liable to face action for cheating/forgery,” Garg had said. Those involved including property dealers, middlemen, facilitator, document writer, etc., are also liable to face legal action, Garg had said.

The CHB had decided to survey all such flats. Teams of officers of the CHB visited each flat to find out whether the flat is occupied by the allottee and their family only, whether monthly rent/ licence fee/ installments is being paid regularly and if presently dues are not pending against such flats.

At the time of the survey, the occupant of the flat was required to establish their identity or if they are a family member of the allottee. The term family member includes parent, siblings, spouse, son, daughter, daughter-in law and grand children of the allottee, etc.

The CHB had also said that friends, cousins, relatives may reside with the allottee for a shorter duration but they cannot be permanent resident of the flat. Occupation of the flat by relatives, cousins, friends or other person, in absence of the allotee or their immediate family will be treated as a violation and the allottee will be required to explain the same.

It was also said that in case of violation of the terms and conditions observed during the survey, the allotment of the flat will be cancelled and possession of the flat will be taken back by the CHB, after following due procedure. The flats vacated during this process may be allotted to other eligible persons. The CEO had also said that the CHB may also file an FIR against the violators.

A total of 18,138 dwelling units were inspected by the CHB. The previous inspection report of all the small flats found that a total of 895 were retained by ‘others’ who were not original allotees, and 1,268 were found locked by the team when they visited.