Chandigarh Housing Board’s rental income plan flops,

At a time when Chandigarh Housing Board’s (CHB) financial woes are well-documented, the board’s rental income plan to lease out Block A at its Sector-9 office has flopped, resulting in revenue loss of ₹7.68 crore over the past two years.
In September 2022, CHB had decided to lease out its old building (Block A), located in prime location in Sector 9, on rent to both the public and private sectors at a cost of ₹203 per square yard, translating into a sizeable ₹32 lakh every month.
As per sources, at one point, the building came close to being rented out to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), except that it was not ready to pay the security amount. However, the board authorities never took a decision on this, leaving the prime property unoccupied for two years.
The office’s Blocks A and C were constructed in 1977 on around 20,000 square feet, comprising 52 rooms and a basement for parking.
The staff was shifted to Block B after the new building was inaugurated on March 27, 2022.
Having seven floors, Block B is a five-star-rated green building, with a number of features to reduce the office’s carbon footprint.
Repeated calls and messages to CHB secretary Akhil Kumar remained unanswered.
Surinder Bahga,a former board member whose term ended on September 7 this year, said the board was already passing through severe financial straits, yet officers did not take a decision, causing huge financial loss.
Idle employees drawing ₹3.5 crore per month
Meanwhile, the board continues to be City Beautiful’s proverbial white elephant, eating into the taxpayers’ money, mostly to pay its 400-odd employees, despite no project being in the works.
Since 2016, the board has failed to take any project to completion. It has also not convened its board meeting for the past nine months. Last year, it met only twice — in February and May.
In the backdrop of this apparent lack of activity, CHB employees continue to draw a salary totalling ₹3.5 crore per month. Besides, around 100 new employees have been added.
The auction of residential and commercial properties, a major earner for the board, have also turned out to be damp squibs in recent years.
CHB, an undertaking of the UT administration, was established in 1976, with the primary objective of providing reasonably priced and good quality housing for individuals lacking shelter within the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
As of March 2019, the board had completed the construction of a total of 67,565 houses across various categories, including rehabilitation schemes.