Chetankumar Kandoliya, a civil engineer, was allotted a house by the Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) in August 2020 however he surrendered it days later as he misplaced his job and will do little personal apply because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Altaf Jivarani, an autorickshaw driver, was overjoyed after proving fortunate to land a one-bedroom-hall-kitchen (1BHK) flat being constructed by RUDA the identical day however surrendered it later after he went with none incomes for round three months and was left with no financial savings to pay for his dream house.
Dipak Modi, a stationery wholesaler, dreamt of getting his personal flat after getting married however he, too, surrendered his 3BHK flat, after his enterprise took a success as a consequence of Covid.
Kandoliya, Jivarani and Modi are amongst scores of house aspirants who surrendered their flats as a consequence of monetary constraints after the lockdown, in accordance with RUDA officers. As many as 304 beneficiaries surrendered their houses allotted by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on August 31, 2020, whereas 390 others stay unsold.
Among the 304 who surrendered their flats allotted to them below the inexpensive housing scheme of the federal government, an enormous majority cited monetary constraint as the rationale, RUDA officers say. As a consequence, RUDA has 694 unsold flats and it has invited functions for the third time for these homes with the deposit right down to a fourth of the sooner.
RUDA had began building of two,483 inexpensive homes in 2019 below the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-Urban at eight places within the metropolis at a value of Rs 406 crore. They included 368 dwelling items (DUs) for EWS, 1150 for EWS-II, 728 for LIG and 192 for MIG.
After the federal government subsidy below the PMAY, 1BHK flat for EWS was priced at Rs 3 lakh, 2BHK flat for EWS-II was priced at Rs 5.5 lakh, LIG 2BHK flats at Rs12 lakh and 3BHK flats for MIG at Rs 24 lakh. Another 128 flats have been additionally constructed on the luxury 150-feet Ring Road.
RUDA began inviting functions for these flats in March however the course of needed to be suspended because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Application window was opened once more in June-July. However, in opposition to the two,438 flats on provide, RUDA received solely 2,376 functions.
After scrutiny of functions, 2,176 flats have been allotted, leaving 386 flats unsold, Chetan Ganatra, chief government authority (CEA) of RUDA, stated. Four flats within the scheme on 150-feet ring street additionally remained unsold, growing the stock to complete 390, he added.
However, as RUDA began finishing the formality of allotments, 304 beneficiaries surrendered their houses. “They said they were unable to make payment due to Covid-19 pandemic. Others surrendered their RUDA flats as the same day, on August 31, they landed flats in housing schemes of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and they preferred to retain the RMC flats. Thus, we are left with total 694 unsold flats,” Ganatra stated.
Chetankumar Kandoliya, 46, who misplaced his job with a civil engineering consulting agency within the run as much as the lockdown, stated, “I tried to start independent practice as a consultant civil engineer but didn’t make a headway. With no income, I had no choice but to surrender my LIG flat and continue to live in a rented accommodation.” Kandoliya holds a diploma in civil engineering and has two school-going youngsters.
Altaf Jivarani, too, had his goals of proudly owning a house dashed. “We have been applying for an affordable house for several years and we were lucky only in August… But unfortunately, we ran out of our savings due to lockdown. For about three months, we were dependent on family and friends to make the ends meet. We applied for bank loan but our application was rejected as we don’t file income tax returns. Therefore, we had no option but to surrender our flat,” stated Farzana, Jivarani’s spouse.
The Jivaranis live in a house owned by Farzana’s mom close to Saat Hanuman on Kuvadva Road. While Altaf drives an autorickshaw, Farzana works as a home assist. Their daughter Fiza research in Class 10 whereas son Ansheni Reza research in school 4.
Pradip Modi’s spouse Divya utilized for an MIG flat a couple of months after their marriage and was allotted one. “But we had to surrender our flat due to uncertainties brought by Covid-19. As schools and colleges were closed, our stationery business was hit,” stated Modi, who lives together with his father of their household house on University Road.
“As the draw of lots for affordable housing schemes of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) was also conducted the same day, there were some duplication among applicants. Therefore, we had to cancel allotment of 106 flats of MIG category as the beneficiary had already got a home in the RMC housing scheme,” stated Ganatra.
RUDA began inviting functions for the unsold 694 homes from January 1 and the window will stay open until January 16.
The unsold homes now being provided by RUDA embody 120 EWS flats, 303 EWS-II flats, 102 LIG flats and 161 MIG flats. Six different flats on 150 ft ring street are additionally on provide. This means, all of the MIG homes being constructed by RUDA close to Saritavihar Society on posh Kalavad Road are both unsold or surrendered.
Also, a majority of the 191 MIG flats being constructed close to Decora West Hill on Kalavad Road are unsold. The EWS-II flats are being constructed on Avadh Club Road, behind ISKON temple, and behind Saynja Chulha restaurant, all on Kalavad Rod.
EWS flats are additionally below building behind Sanjha Chulha restaurant and Avadh Club Road. The CEA says RUDA would begin giving possession to beneficiaries from November this 12 months and all the homes can be handed over by March 2022.
To appeal to extra functions within the third try, RUDA has lowered the quantity of deposit. The candidates will now should pay Rs 2,500 for EWS, Rs 5,000 for EWS-II, Rs 10,000 for LIG and Rs20,000 for MIG as in opposition to Rs 10,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 40,000 and Rs 75,000 earlier.
“We are getting good response. In fact a number of previous beneficiaries are inquiring if they can apply again,” Ganatra added.
The CEA stated that RUDA had refunded deposits to all of the beneficiaries who surrendered their homes. “At the time of application, the condition was that if a beneficiary surrendered her flat after it was allotted through draw of lots, she would lose her deposit. But considering the Covid-19 pandemic, we took a lenient view and refunded despots minus Rs 1,000 administrative charge,” stated Ganatra.