Curation Team
GURUGRAM: A plan to demolish 1,088 EWS flats in Sector 47 has been shelved, paving the way for long-delayed allotments.
The renovation work of these flats will be carried out by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), and flats will be allotted to eligible families. Built at Rs 42 crore in 2010 under the Ashiana scheme for the poor, the flats remained unoccupied for 15 years and were never allotted due to a mix of procedural delays and disputes over beneficiary eligibility.
Earlier, HSVP officials stated that identifying qualified applicants proved difficult, as many lacked complete documentation or did not meet income and residence criteria. Over the years, verification exercises stalled repeatedly, and the absence of a final allottee list left the units vacant.
Following a complaint by advocate Abhay Jain, Huda decided to renovate the units instead of tearing them down. Confirming the development, HSVP administrator Dr Chander Shekher Khare told TOI that Rs 8 crore have been sanctioned for the renovation of EWS flats. The allotment will be done once the renovation work is complete.
According to HSVP officials, the original proposal was to demolish the Sector 47 flats, auction the prime land for high-end group housing, and shift EWS allottees to a five-acre multi-storey complex in Sector 9. Officials, however, justified the move by citing the high market value of the Sector 47 plot – located next to the district centre, with a metro station planned nearby, and adjacent to a large IKEA mixed-use commercial project. The then estate officer had said, “This land, about 18 to 20 acres, is very valuable. The land will be auctioned for group housing, and EWS allottees will be accommodated in the Sector 9 project.”
Jain’s complaint, alleging that the demolition plan undermined the original purpose of the Ashiana scheme, was taken up by the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO sought responses from HSVP officials, and within weeks, the proposal to raze the flats was shelved.
On Aug 5, HSVP sanctioned Rs 8.8 crore for special repairs, to be completed within 150 days. Once restored, the flats will be allotted to beneficiaries as originally intended under the scheme.
