71,000 dwelling units to be built at 13 locations; Rs 23,279 crore estimated cost
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, December 30
The construction of 71,000 dwelling units for troops and their families is running behind schedule, a parliamentary standing committee on defence has said. Of the 71,000 units to be built under a housing project — “married accommodation project” (MAP) — 70,432 will be for the Army.
The committee led by BJP MP Jual Oram presented its “six-month statement regarding the status of implementation of recommendations” during the winter session of Parliament that ended on December 23.
The committee has backed a plan to bring the MAP under the existing “annual works programme” of the Army rather than having a separate budgetary allocation for it.
The MAP, planned in four phases, envisages the construction of 1.98 lakh dwelling units at various locations for troops and their families. The third and fourth phases, under which 71,102 units will be constructed, have been clubbed together. Phase-II is slated for completion by 2023.
The committee pointed out “reduced budget reallocation” and cited a delay in the commencement of Phase-III, besides a delay in executing Phase-II.
The estimated cost of building 71,702 units at 13 locations across the country is Rs 23,279 crore.
“Budgetary constraints have caused delays in the construction. Therefore, the Department of Military Affairs has decided that the maximum number of dwelling units will be constructed under the annual works major programme,” said the committee.
To kick off Phase-III, it has been decided to start with 24,592 dwelling units.