Certain
flats
in Gurgaon which were built for Economically
Weaker Sections and households who were Below Poverty Line are to be sold
through a draw to such households soon. Nearly 1500 units of affordable housing
in Gurgaon were built by the government over the past five years yet not a
single unit was occupied. The primary reason for zero occupancies of such property
in Gurgaon was that the concerned segments that were expected to buy the
flats had not been informed of the existence of such flats.
To Whom
Were the Flats Expected to be sold?
The
flats were expected to be sold to those households which were either below the
poverty line or those which were from economically weaker sections. To qualify
such households had to prove that they had been living on encroached land for
five years. Such households were also expected to approach the courts for
regularization of the colony where they lived and also agree to be shifted to
alternative shelters before they were evicted from their present homes.
The
number of such flats in Gurgaon is a little less than 1090. 560 units of
such flats were built in residential
projects in Gurgaon and were completed six years ago.
The rest of the units were completed last year. Upon completion, the government
had received over 200 applications for such flats for purchase but none of the
applicants was considered suitable for ownership of the flats. The reason why
so many unsuitable applicants applied for the concerned flats is likely that
the authorities did not make plain the eligibility criteria for the flats.
New
Measures to Find Eligible Owners
Recently
the eligibility criterion has been stated clearly and the authorities have once
again invited applicants for the flats. Since the flats are meant for the
poorer segments of society they are priced at well below four lakhs rupees per
unit. Only those individuals who have been living for five years on encroached
land and can provide a Below Poverty Line card and those from Economically
Weaker Sections will be able to buy the flats. These residential properties
in Gurgaon are an attempt to better integrate the city with more diverse
residents.
The
cost of the project to construct the mentioned flats was over forty crores and
the unit size of the flats consists of two varieties, one size is 30.3 square
meters and the other is of 30.6 square meters.
Affordable
Flats all Across Haryana
Nearly
10,000 units of flats for to BPL and EWS were built in nine urban regions of
Haryana. Close to fifteen hundred such units were constructed in Gurgaon and
Rewari combined. None of the flats mentioned will be purchased by someone who
is looking for luxury
flats in Gurgaon and rather none can be since to be
able to purchase such flats requires proper documents which only certain
segments of society have.
The
availability of such flats to households which are from improvised segments of
society will have a strong impact on the owners of such flats. As many such
flats are located in Gurgaon, their true market value shall be higher than the
price at which they are being made available to suitable applicants. Once such
flats are sold and taken possession of, the residents may feel an economic
incentive to dispose of the flats sooner rather than later to others willing to
pay a significantly higher price. These flats sold as affordable housing in
Gurgaon may, in the end, find themselves in the hands of wealthier
residents.
