Chandigarh, June 7 -- The Chandigarh Housing Board still cannot seem to make up its mind about the long-delayed General Housing Scheme in Sector 53 - its only offering since 2016. After conducting a much-publicised demand survey, which received an enthusiastic response, the board has now decided to refund the nearly Rs.7.5 crore collected from the hopeful applicants. The demand survey, which ended on March 3, saw 7,468 applicants vying for 372 flats across three categories - nearly 20 applicants per unit - reflecting a strong demand. To confirm their interest, the applicants had deposited Rs.10,000 for High-Income Group (HIG) and Middle-Income Group (MIG) flats, and Rs.5,000 for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats. However, a sharp hike in the city's collector rates, which took effect from April 1, pushed the flat prices up by 35% to 40%, throwing the project into uncertainty. When the demand survey was conducted, just weeks before the new collector rates were implemented, the estimated cost of the three-bedroom, two-bedroom and two-bedroom EWS flats was Rs.1.65 crore, Rs.1.40 crore and Rs.55 lakh, respectively. But under the new collector rates, the prices have risen to a staggering Rs.2.29 crore for a three-bedroom flat, Rs.1.97 crore for a two-bedroom flat and Rs.73 lakh for an EWS flat, leaving officials pondering whether the applicants will still be willing to proceed at the higher prices. Subsequently, CHB CEO Ajay Chagti had said the matter will be placed before the Board of Directors to decide whether to go ahead with the scheme or conduct a fresh demand survey. But no meeting has been held even two months after the hiked collector rates were enforced. Instead the board has simply decided to refund the application fee - leaving thousands of housing hopefuls in Chandigarh frustrated and disappointed. To make matters worse, there's no clarity on what comes next. A CHB official confirmed that UT chief secretary-cum-CHB chairman Rajeev Verma had approved the refunds. However, no decision has been taken on whether a fresh survey will be conducted or whether the scheme will proceed at all. Ironically, the demand survey itself was ordered by the UT chief secretary to establish demand for the project. The whopping 7,468 applications are in stark contrast to only 178 applications for 492 flats when the scheme was first floated in 2018. The low response, primarily due to steep prices, had ultimately led to the scheme getting dropped. Back then, the three-bedroom flat was offered for as high as Rs.1.8 crore, two-bedroom flat for Rs.1.5 crore and one-bedroom flat for Rs.95 lakh. Struggling to justify its existence, the board revived the scheme in February 2023 with lower prices. However, former UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit put the scheme on hold in August 2023, citing there was no requirement for it. But his successor Gulab Chand Kataria, in November 2024, revived the scheme, prompting a fresh demand survey....