IAS Officer Awanish Kumar Sharan Widens CGHIDB's Mandate Beyond Housing Into Urban Infrastructure

IAS officer Awanish Kumar Sharan, who took charge of the Chhattisgarh Housing and Infrastructure Development Board in April 2025, has overseen its expansion from a housing-focused agency into a broader urban development institution, pushing the organisation into infrastructure projects, redevelopment and Public-Private Partnerships across the state.

CGHIDB, formerly the Chhattisgarh Housing Board, is a self-financing state agency whose original mandate was limited to housing construction and allotment, with nearly 70 percent of its stock historically catering to Economically Weaker Sections and Lower Income Groups. The organisation's transition to its expanded name and mandate allows it to now undertake Town Planning Schemes, redevelopment of ageing colonies and infrastructure projects, positioning it as a state-level counterpart to urban development authorities in larger states. The rebranding also gives the board statutory room to enter joint ventures with private developers, a route several state housing boards have opened up as land within city limits has grown scarcer and costlier to acquire outright.

Sharan inherited an institution with a strong affordable-housing legacy but a mandate that had remained narrowly focused even as Chhattisgarh's cities grew. His first priorities centred on reforming internal systems and rebuilding public confidence in the board's operations, including strengthening technology-driven service delivery through an Allottee Portal that gives beneficiaries direct access to property details, maintenance charges and payment records on a single platform. Colleagues describe his approach as heavily process-oriented, with an emphasis on cutting the time between booking and possession that had previously left buyers waiting months for paperwork to clear.

Before the mandate expansion, CGHIDB functioned primarily as a housing construction and allotment body, with limited engagement in the infrastructure and redevelopment work now central to its operations. Under Sharan, the organisation became one of the first housing institutions in the country to offer end-to-end online property booking through its website, alongside simultaneous registration and possession that simplified allotment and cut costs tied to properties sitting vacant.

The expanded CGHIDB has since launched a Bulk Sale Policy allowing institutions to purchase housing units in larger numbers, and organised the State-Level Housing Fair 2025, which put 56 housing projects worth more than ₹2,000 crore before buyers. Average annual property sales rose from 1,559 units in the 2019-23 period to 2,955 units in 2024-26, while sales value climbed from ₹72 crore to ₹613 crore over the same comparison, according to figures released by the board. Officials attribute part of the jump to faster registration timelines and to marketing efforts aimed at institutional and bulk buyers rather than individual purchasers alone.

CGHIDB's redevelopment push now covers five Phase-I projects spanning nearly 19 acres and valued at about ₹250 crore, executed through the PPP mode, alongside a proposed housing, wellness and tourism project at Mainpat in Surguja district. The board has expanded its presence to 30 of Chhattisgarh's 33 districts, with a stated goal of reaching every Vidhan Sabha constituency, and has directed particular attention toward Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups under the PM JANMAN initiative, including hostel and educational infrastructure in remote areas.

CGHIDB has maintained a debt-free financial position through the expansion, according to the board, while also delivering schools, healthcare facilities, hostels and warehouses as part of its widened infrastructure portfolio under Sharan's leadership. The board's transition from a single-purpose housing agency to a multi-sector development institution mirrors a shift several state housing boards have attempted in recent years, though few have paired the change with the scale of sales growth and geographic expansion CGHIDB has recorded since the mandate widened. Sustaining that pace will depend on how quickly the board can convert its Phase-I redevelopment pipeline into completed, revenue-generating projects rather than announced ones.