Fifteen years after they were built, 1,088 flats meant for families from the economically weaker sections (EWS) in Gurugram’s Sector 47 will finally see residents move in. The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has reversed its earlier plan to demolish the structures and will instead undertake a complete renovation before allotment.
Constructed in 2010 under the Ashiana housing scheme at a cost of Rs forty two crore, the units were designed to provide permanent shelter to eligible low-income families. However, from the outset, the project was stalled by a chain of administrative lapses incomplete beneficiary records, disputed eligibility claims, and repeated verification failures. As a result, the flats stood locked and deteriorating for over a decade, as per a report by ET Realty.
Why Were These Flats Left Vacant for So Long?
HSVP’s challenge was not in construction, but in paperwork. Identifying qualified recipients proved more complicated than expected. Officials reported that many applicants could not produce the required proof of income or residency, while others did not meet the prescribed limits under the scheme. Efforts to compile a final beneficiary list failed repeatedly. Without a clear allottee roster, the units remained unused, and maintenance was neglected, the report added.
A few years ago, the authority considered a different course entirely. The Sector forty seven plot, spanning about eighteen to twenty acres, lies in a high-demand location adjacent to a planned metro line, close to the district centre, and next to a large commercial development by IKEA. Given the market value, the proposal was floated to demolish the EWS blocks, auction the land for premium group housing, and shift eligible EWS applicants to a high-rise complex on a smaller five-acre site in Sector 9, as per the report.
One senior estate official at the time had explained, “This land is very valuable. We can auction it for group housing, and still accommodate the EWS category in Sector 9,” as quoted by ET Realty.
PMO Intervention Changes the Course
The turning point came when advocate Abhay Jain filed a complaint alleging that the demolition plan violated the intent of the Ashiana scheme which was to provide housing at the same site to low-income families. The matter reached the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which sought clarifications from HSVP.
Faced with scrutiny from the highest administrative level, HSVP set aside its demolition plan. On 5 August, the authority formally sanctioned Rs 8.8 crore for special repairs to the existing flats, with a target completion timeline of 150 days.
