GMADA is planning to float tenders for the EWS housing scheme next month and also invite applications for the flats that will be 5,000 in number. The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) is planning to roll out the housing scheme for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in February, seven months after it finalised the layout plan for the construction of 5,000 flats in July 2022. Along with floating tenders for construction, the authority will start inviting applications for the flats next month.
Priced at around Rs 8.5 lakh each, the apartments will be constructed on an area of 30 square metres and comprise a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a toilet. GMADA plans to construct them using the latest brickless technology and will offer financing through banks at affordable monthly instalment rates.
During a recent meeting with GMADA officers, Punjab housing and urban development minister Aman Arora had directed them to expedite the construction of houses for the poor.
A senior GMADA officer said the layout plan for the construction of 5,000 flats under the Punjab government’s housing policy for EWS had been approved and the authority was hopeful of launching the scheme by mid-February. “Soon after the launch, tenders will be floated for the flats’ construction and applications will be invited,” he said.
As per the plan, the flats will come up in four-storey buildings that will be constructed on around 54 acres at GMADA’s four townships — Aerocity (13.49 acres), IT City (17.48 acres), Eco City-1 (3.6 acres) and Eco City-2 (20.17 acres).
The apartment buildings will be constructed in reasonably-sized pockets with social infrastructure, such as schools, community centres and dispensaries at convenient locations to ensure comfortable living.
The project is part of the Punjab government’s EWS housing policy, which was revised and finalised in February 2021. Seven years ago, GMADA had got back 230 acres from 46 builders, who had failed to build EWS houses under the policy.
The eligible applicants will have to furnish proof of birth in Punjab or of a 10-year stay in the state. The family’s income should not exceed Rs 3 lakh per annum from all sources, as revised by the central or Punjab government from time to time. The applicant, their spouse or minor child must not already own a freehold/leasehold residential plot/dwelling unit in Punjab or Chandigarh. Applicants will be required to self-certify that they meet all eligibility terms.
