Chandigarh Housing Board cancels allotment of 20 small flats over

Launching a crackdown on rent defaulters, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has cancelled the allotment of 20 flats in Sector 49 and 56 owing to unpaid rent worth ₹40 lakh.
The allotment was cancelled as neither the allottees deposited the licence fee/rent nor gave any response despite repeated show-cause notices, said officials.
These flats were allotted under the Small Flats Scheme, for which the necessary licence fee has to be paid per month. But the fee of each of these allottees was pending at ₹1.5 lakh or more.
Of the total 20 flats, 12 are located in Sector 56 and eight in Sector 49.
Along with cancellation of the allotment, CHB has asked the allottees concerned to hand over the possession of the flat within 30 days. If the allottees fail to return the possession, the process of eviction will be initiated.
According to officials, even after issuing more than seven show-cause notices, the allottees failed to deposit the outstanding licence fees. The final opportunity was given in September, but most of the allottees failed to comply.
These flats have an outstanding licence fee of more than ₹40 lakh. The eight flats in Sector 49 have outstanding fees of ₹1.92 lakh each, while the dues of some have even crossed ₹2 lakh. According to officials, action will be taken in the coming days on many more allottees with higher amounts.
In August 2013, the UT administration had decided that beneficiaries will be allotted small flats for a period of 20 years with a licence fee of ₹800 per month for the first five years. There will be a 20% increase for the subsequent five-year periods, bringing the fee to ₹960, ₹1,152 and ₹1,382 for each successive term.
Recently, an audit report had highlighted that CHB had failed to recover licence fees/rent worth ₹44.26 crore from 13,464 defaulters across different sectors as of March 31, 2023.