No plan to allow need-based changes in society flats: MHA
In a setback to residents of cooperative society flats in the city, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has clarified that there is no proposal to allow need-based structural modifications. The city has 113 cooperative societies with nearly 15,000 flats.
No proposal to revise conversion charges
During the ongoing Lok Sabha session, city MP Manish Tewari sought to know whether the government planned to revise the Chandigarh Housing Board’s method to calculate conversion charges for cooperative societies. To this, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, replied that there was no such proposal.
During the ongoing Lok Sabha session, city MP Manish Tewari asked a question whether the government considered allowing need-based structural changes in cooperative society flats in Chandigarh, such as glazing in verandas or installing rain sheds.
In reply, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, said there was no such proposal.
Tewari also sought to know whether the government planned to revise the Chandigarh Housing Board’s method to calculate conversion charges for cooperative societies in accordance with the original policy. The minister replied that there was no such proposal.
Further, Tewari sought the reasons for charging 18% GST on conversion charges, unearned increase, and ground rent by the CHB, while societies under the Estate Office were exempt from such charges. To this, the minister replied, “The board has sought a clarification on the applicability of GST charges from the Authority of Advance Ruling with the GST Department.”
The city MP also asked about the steps being taken by the government to expedite the issuing of completion certificates for cooperative housing societies, some of which were awaiting approval since 2001.
The minister said of the 113 such societies under the Estate Office, occupation certificates had been issued to 88 while 13 never applied for it. He added that two cases were rejected. “Ten applications are pending due to non-rectification of deficiencies by the applicant societies,” he said.
JJ Singh, president of a cooperative housing society in Sector 48, RS Thapar, president of a cooperative housing society in Sector 49, and Avtar Singh, president of a cooperative housing building society in Sector 50-D, stated that they had been raising various issues faced by residents of cooperative housing flats. They said many societies had not been issued completion certificates despite a March 2, 2016, order of the then UT Adviser. All these years, residents were made to pay not only double charges for water as penalty. Despite sanctioning of water connection, the water bill was being calculated at 50 kl per month and not on actual consumption, which was around 20 kl per month, they said.
For want of completion certificate, leasehold societies could not apply for conversion to freehold. The land rate, which was Rs 1,710 as per the 1996 conversion policy, has been hiked to Rs 84,227, almost 50 times, in 2017, they stated.
The Estate Office had agreed in a meeting to take over works related to the housing societies from the board as recommended by them, but no official action was taken on it so far, they claimed.
