BHUBANESWAR: Homebuyers of Dhauli Heights, a project executed by Odisha Cooperative Housing Cooperation (OCHC) Ltd, may have to wait further with cooperation minister Pradeep Bal Samanta indicating that allotment is likely to be delayed further.
Responding to queries raised by different MLAs in the assembly on the status of allotment of houses in Dhauli Heights, the minister recently stated that Odisha Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (OPHWC) completed the construction and handed over the project to OCHC. However, allotment will only commence after Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) approves its revised building plan and the occupancy certificate for the project.
Samanta further stated that after BDA’s nod, Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) will register the project, and only then can allotment of houses commence. “OCHC took up the project in a public-private-partnership mode in the Tamando area in 2014 and agreed to hand over the houses to the buyers by 2016. The delay was caused since the private partner showed inability in completing the project,” the minister stated.
He said an agreement was signed with OPHWC in 2021 for completion of the project. “OPHWC completed the construction in June and handed over the project to OCHC,” Samanta stated.
The minister, however, didn’t provide any timeline for allotment of houses. “The minister in the Aug session told the assembly that the allotment has begun, but it was a white lie,” Sravani Sarangi, vice-president, Dhauli Heights association of allottees, said.
Ganeswar Swain, another allottee, said the answers given by the minister are frustrating. “All of us are fully disappointed. No time-frame has been specified. The reasons questioned were not answered but rather simply avoided tactfully,” he said.
Pramod Kumar Mohanty, president of the association, said the inaction of OCHC, a state-owned entitiy, is not being seriously viewed. “Govt looks like offering protection to the erring OCHC that is cheating the homebuyers in broad daylight,” he said.
