Crores down the drain as 'new' social housing schemes crumble across cities

Vadodara/Surat/Ahmedabad: A criminal waste of public money is being witnessed in key cities of Gujarat, where despite hundreds of crores being spent on their construction, homes in ‘new' affordable housing schemes for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), remain unallocated or uninhabitable for more than a decade, exposing their shoddy quality.

In Vadodara, a Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) housing scheme in Sayajipura, comprising 1,196 units has been practically complete since 2019 but remains unoccupied. These homes, meant for the urban poor, lack essential infrastructure like reliable water supply, and have been abandoned. "Even these beneficiaries have not paid their contribution for the houses yet. We got the blocks painted again and some minor work that remains can be done anytime," said an official from the Vadodara Municipal Corporation.

Sources said that the housing scheme had run into difficulties soon after work was allotted to a contractor, who claimed financial difficulties. The work had to be allotted to another contractor. Even after this, it was not completed in the real sense. It was only recently that around 30 beneficiaries were identified through a draw. "Even these beneficiaries have not paid their contribution for the houses yet. We got the blocks painted again and some minor work that remains cane be done anytime," said a VMC official.

An elected representative pointed out that while the housing blocks may seem ready, there were issues related to water supply that still needed to be fixed. "Without basic amenities like water, the houses cannot be handed over," he said.

The rot extends to Ahmedabad where the municipal corporation demolished 1,664 unused houses in Vatva, originally built at a cost of Rs 55.20 crore. These units were part of the 18,928 houses constructed under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme before 2014 for Rs 500 crore.

"The 1,664 houses, which had been vacant for over a decade, had deteriorated significantly. An influential politician from the area had pressured to stop the allotment process," admits a senior AMC official. The official said, "A structural audit deemed them unsafe, prompting their demolition. Now, AMC has begun inspection of the remaining houses."

Close to 4,000 houses among the 18,928 were never allocated for a long time — largely due to beneficiaries failing to pay the required Rs 65,000, leading to prolonged vacancy and decay. Alarmingly, nearly half of the total units have shown structural issues over the past 12 years. "The upcoming structural audit will guide AMC's next steps under the Public Housing Redevelopment Policy 2016," said the official.

AMC's standing committee recently approved Rs 81 lakh for SVNIT, Surat, to assess the structural stability of over 8,000 houses across 270 blocks in Vatva and Behrampura. No action has been initiated against the contractors who constructed these dwellings. "Most of these houses were allocated to families displaced by the Sabarmati Riverfront project," adds the AMC official.

The situation is equally dire in Surat, where a Rs 19 crore housing project for the EWS in Bhestan, developed in 2014-15, crumbled even before its 10th anniversary. This project of 270 apartments was constructed without crucial water and drainage connections.

(With inputs from Yagnesh Mehta )