The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Reforms put Housing Board on the road to revival

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 10, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Reforms put Housing Board on the road to revival

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, NOV. 9. Major initiatives including restructuring, policies and standardisation of procedures to make it allottee-friendly has put the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) on the path of revival, besides pulling it out of debt.

The 11-point plan of action mooted by the board had the State Government's support, according to the managing director, Surjit K. Choudhary.

Mr. Choudhary, told newspersons here that the board came into existence in 1961 in a non-competitive market enjoying a near monopoly status. But in a competitive market scenario with numerous players, the TNHB had to struggle to sustain its position.

Restructuring

As part of the restructuring exercise, the board was able to identify and close down 11 special divisions and seven circles across the State.

Staff were re-deployed to enhance efficiency. The measures helped in bringing down the overheads and establishment charges.

Another thrust area was streamlining the functioning of the TNHB. Computerisation of allottees' accounts had been completed while the process was underway in connection with files relating to land acquisition accounts and financial-cum-banking accounts.

A high-level steering committee had been formed for this purpose.

Clear guidelines had been evolved for resolving litigations either before a court of law or even by an out-of-the-court settlement after recovering the cost of litigation.

Handover of schemes

Steps had been taken to handover 124 schemes to the respective local bodies for better up-keep and maintenance. While 84 schemes had already been handed over, 16 were in the process and council resolution of the local bodies was awaited in the case of 24 schemes, said Mr. Choudhary.

The computerisation of assets - unsold and saleable properties - helped in building up an inventory, which helped in unearthing nearly Rs. 680 crores of saleable properties in addition to the Rs. 499 crores worth of property that existed on the TNHB records.

Individual targets were fixed for the field staff, making them work constructively towards financial stability.

Unsold houses, sites were even sold on auction thus fetching nearly Rs. 15.5 crores in just one month. As of now, TNHB had Rs. 600 crores worth of properties while the computerised inventories escalated it to Rs. 1,300 crores.

The TNHB had Rs. 450 crores worth of loans to be settled and the saleable assets with it were worth more than Rs. 1,000 crores.

So, the TNHB was even looking at the option of going in for joint ventures to promote new properties and townships by utilising the acquisitioned land to further improve its finances, Mr. Choudhary pointed out.

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