Housing Board officers unaware of future roadmap
*PPP experiment draws blank response
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 1: The Union Territory Government’s ambitious plan to develop multiple new housing colonies across Jammu and Kashmir has quietly slipped into limbo, with the Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board failing to attract any viable proposal under the much-touted Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Most astonishingly, even after detailed deliberations in a recent high level meeting, senior officers of the Board appear unaware of any concrete future roadmap for the project.
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In the middle of 2024, the J&K Housing Board issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) inviting private developers to partner in developing mass and integrated housing colonies in different parts of the Union Territory. The process was first stalled by the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct during the Assembly elections and later revived with an extended deadline of October 10, 2024.
However, when the deadline expired, the response stunned even officials—no developer submitted a concrete proposal, not even those who had participated actively in pre-bid interactions, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
Thereafter, it was decided by the Housing Board to restart the process by engaging a Transaction Advisor to rework the project framework and prepare fresh Detailed Project Reports. However, what happened thereafter was never made public, they further said, adding the prolonged delay has caused widespread disappointment among people, who were eagerly waiting for these housing projects to translate into reality.
With repeated announcements and identification of land across several districts, there was a growing expectation that long-pending housing needs particularly for middle-income groups and economically weaker sections would finally be addressed. “However, the absence of any tangible progress has left prospective beneficiaries disillusioned”, sources said.
Admitting that the PPP route has simply not worked so far, sources informed that earlier, housing projects were executed under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. However, the Board of Directors decided to abandon EPC and adopt the PPP model for all future projects, placing the burden of financing, approvals, construction and long-term maintenance entirely on private developers, with the Board’s role limited to providing encumbrance-free land.
“The decision, now under scrutiny, appears to have backfired”, they remarked.
Managing Director of the J&K Housing Board, Shahbaz Ahmed Mirza, who was contacted after repeated attempts, admitted that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode has so far failed to yield any positive outcome. “The issue was discussed in the meeting of the Board of Directors held early last month. However, I am not in a position to share details of the decisions taken,” he said.
The Managing Director advised the Correspondent to contact him after a few days, stating that he would first examine the Minutes of the Meeting and then provide the relevant information.
However, the official handout issued after the Board of Directors meeting stated that the Chief Minister had directed the Housing Board to fast-track project implementation, adopt modern project management practices and ensure delivery of affordable, safe and quality housing, particularly for middle- and lower-income groups, emphasizing that providing affordable housing for all sections of society is the core mandate for which the J&K Housing Board was established.
What makes the situation more perplexing is that land is no longer a constraint. For development of one each Mass Housing Colony at Birpur near Bari Brahmana and Padgampura in Pulwama district, 45 kanals and 30 kanals of land parcels respectively have been identified by the Housing Board.
Similarly, for development of Integrated Mass Housing Colony at Watapora in Bandipora and construction of flatted accommodation for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) at Bhalwal in Jammu land parcels of 200 kanals and 85 kanals respectively have been identified.
Likewise, 81 kanals of land has been identified for development of flatted/plotted accommodation at Changran in Kathua; 353 kanals at Chatterhama in Srinagar for development of Housing Colony; 214 kanals at Bakoora in Ganderbal for development of Housing Colony/flatted accommodation; 41 kanals of land at Bhalwal for construction of housing facilities for Central Government and UT Government employees; 248 kanals for development of Housing Colony at Chak Bhalwal; 69 kanals at Chowadhi Jammu for development of Housing Colony and 16 kanals of land at Kanuyian in Poonch for development of Housing Colony.
“With no proposals received and no revised roadmap shared, the housing colonies plan stands frozen in uncertainty. For now, the grand announcements remain confined to files, while the promise of affordable and mass housing across Jammu and Kashmir continues to elude the public”, sources remarked.
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