CHB readies drawings for installation of lifts in flats

For convenience of residents, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has prepared standard drawings for installation of lifts in four of its housing categories.

According to the CHB, the drawings have been prepared for the installation of lift in flats of HIG Lower and HIG Upper in Sector 38 West and Category I and II in Sector 51-A.

The standard drawings can be downloaded from CHB’s website www.chbonline.in. It will be necessary to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the CHB. For this, the applicant has to apply with a fee of Rs 10,000, after which a 15-day notice period will be issued to rest of the allottees of the block for contributing proportionate cost, in case they intend to use the lift.

After obtaining the NOC, the applicant has to apply for permission from the Plan Approval Committee (Upper) of the Estate Office through the empanelled private architect concerned, along with applicable fee. The procedure will be applicable till the time requisite changes in the Online Building Plan Approval System (OBPAS) are put in place. The UT Estate Department has recently allowed the CHB to install lifts in its residential flats.

The move has come as a relief to the allottees, who live on upper floors and are facing hardship due to the lack of lifts. The decision will especially benefit the elderly, pregnant women and differently abled persons.

In another important decision, the department has given a relief to people living in buildings, which are old and don’t have space to install lifts. In such cases, the department has given permission to install lifts with certain conditions. The order states that if it is not possible to construct a lift inside a building due to the design or location of the building, the lift may be allowed to be constructed at a suitable place in its vicinity. But this permission will be subject to the condition that the ownership of the government’s land will not change for construction at that place, which means a lift can be built on government land, but that land will not be transferred in the name of the allottee.