Chandigarh, Feb. 26 -- In a move that could bring major relief to nearly 35,000 residents ofrehabilitation colonies, the Chandigarh administration has reconstituted a three-member committee to examine the issue of granting ownership rights. The panel has been asked to submit its report by mid-March. The allottees have been demanding ownership rights for the past two decades. The committee, chaired by the secretary of the estate office, will review the legal framework and study models adopted by other cities in dealing with similar housing issues. Confirming the development, chief secretary H Rajesh Prasad said the administration would take a final decision after examining the panel's recommendations. The houses were constructed across 12 rehabilitation colonies under a scheme launched in the late 1970s to provide low-cost housing to economically weaker sections (EWSs) living in slums and labour colonies. These tenements were allotted on a licence fee basis, ranging up to Rs.800 per month between 1979 and 2006. Prasad said the committee has been reconstituted as the recommendations of a previous panel formed in 2023 were not accepted, as they were considered likely to worsen the difficulties of residents. A survey conducted the same year found that nearly 80% of the houses are occupied by persons other than the original allottees, with many properties transferred through general power of attorney (GPA), which is not legally valid for ownership transfer. In several cases, houses had changed hands multiple times. Last year, the issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha, where Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari was informed by the Centre that there is no provision to grant ownership rights to such houses, which were allotted on long-term lease, mostly for 99 years, under the 1979 rehabilitation scheme. Key colonies covered under the scheme include Dhanas, Bapu Dham, Mauli Jagran, Mani Majra, Indira Colony, Dadu Majra, and Sectors 52 and 56. Residents have long demanded ownership rights, saying the lack of clear titles prevents them from availing bank loans and reduces property value. According to official data, 34,965 houses have been constructed under the rehabilitation scheme since 1980 and allotted on a leasehold or licence fee basis. More than 15,000 units are currently listed as defaulters for non-payment of licence fees. The previous committee had recommended against granting ownership rights and instead suggested recovery of dues and revision of licence fees at market rates. The newly reconstituted panel is expected to revisit these recommendations and suggest a way forward. Addressing a press conference, chief secretary Prasad also ruled the introduction of a land pooling policy, stating that the remaining land in the Union Territory will be retained for planned urban development in line with the Master Plan. He said most of the land required for the city's expansion has already been acquired, and the remaining parcels have been earmarked for specific purposes. "The land that is yet to be utilised has already been planned in accordance with the Master Plan, and land pooling is not under consideration," he said. According to official estimates, around 2,500 acres remain under focus for future development. Of this, 700 to 800 acres have been reserved as green belts to maintain ecological balance. Nearly 250 to 300 acres have been designated for residential use, while around 700 acres have been earmarked for institutional, medical, commercial and other public infrastructure projects. For several years, farmers in villages on the city's periphery have demanded a land pooling policy similar to those implemented in other cities. They argue that such a policy would allow landowners to become stakeholders in development and benefit from increased land value instead of losing their land through direct acquisition....