Capt orders immediate steps to implement free houses for homeless poor

Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday initiated the process of allotting free houses for the homeless poor, as promised in the Congress poll manifesto.He also directed the setting up of a committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, to formulate a legislation for regularisation of illegal colonies and transfer of ownership rights to the occupants.The Chief Minister also directed the Town Planning Department to complete work on preparing Master Plans of all cities in the state by the end of the current financial year.
The meeting further decided on a series of measures, including allotment of project-based No Due Certificate (NDC) to promoters, in order to ease the Real Estate business in the state. The NDC will now be valid for three months, to be taken by the department on the date of application for a particular service rather than as on date of delivery of service.In another decision, the Chief Minister put his stamp of approval on the reduction of transfer fee levied by GMADA etc from 2.5% to 2% till March 31, 2018. Chairing a review meeting of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Amarinder directed the officials concerned to ensure completion of the master plans within the stipulated timeframe by outsourcing the necessary planning work, if need be.