‘Renovate, maintain unoccupied Govt quarters and allot it to needy staff’

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems tha there are no takers for Central Government quarters because of its poor conditions. Although the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has constructed a large number of quarters in the city, many households are not maintained due to which about 700 quarters are still lying unoccupied. The Central Government employees are not occupying quarters due to poor housing facilities, lack of maintenance and upkeep.

 

“These unoccupied quarters should be upgraded, renovated and properly maintained, so that employees could take the accommodations,” said Sanjay Thul, President of All India Federation of Customs, Central Excise and GST SC/ST Employees Welfare Organisation. Out of the total 1,914 quarters, around 700 quarters are still unoccupied according to the Director of Estates, Nagpur. “The condition of these quarters is going from bad to worse. The unoccupied quarters have increased from 500 to 700 quarters in a span of 10 years,” he pointed out. Most of the quarters are lying in dilapidated condition so Central Government employees are not willing to occupy it.

 

In Nagpur there are a total 1,914 quarters under the General Pool Residential Accommodations (GPRA) available for Government employees. These quarters are mostly situated in prime locations of the city like Civil Lines, Seminary Hills and Katol Road. This information was provided by the Directorate of Estates under the Right to Information Act (RTI) filed by Abhay Kolharkar, social worker, recently. “The Government should frame a policy to utilise the unoccupied quarters. They can be handed over to public sector units (PSUs) or sold to Central Government employees,” Thul suggested. In view of the above facts, Thul has sent a letter requesting Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Housing and Urban Affair, New Delhi to look into this issue and solve it as soon as possible.