Wait is on for community centres

These community centres hit roadblocks like non-approval of sites,building plans not being cleared by the Architecture department and lack of contractors.

The new community centres were primarily proposed for the southern sectors and some villages.

Councillor Ravinder Pal Singh says he had identified a site in Sector 46 for a community centre. “I informed the Chief Architect about it,but I was told that construction for some other building has to take place there. Construction for a community centre has been pending for two-and-a-half years now. They can’t identify a site,” he says.

There have been cases where sites were identified but the building plans were not approved by the Architecture department for ‘faulty’ designs.

“A community centre was approved for Sector 49 and it was decided that a swimming pool would be built in it. But due to this proposal,progress has been stuck,” councillor Ram Sumer Morya says. “It has been a long wait for a community centre in my ward. Residents do not have any place in the neighbourhood where functions can be held at a reasonable cost.”

Satish Sharma,general secretary of the Chandigarh Social Welfare Council,says around two years ago they were assured that new community centres would be built in the southern sectors,“but nothing has been done”.

“A large chunk of the population lives in southern sectors,but there is no community centre in these newly developed sectors,” Sharma says. “Residents have no place to hold functions like jagrans. Several times we have approached the authorities,but there has been no action.”

In some cases,estimates for these community centres are passed,but as the construction does not start on time,the estimate increases.

An official of the UT Administration says it takes “some time” for a community centre to come up. “Approval of the site takes time. Then the building plans have to be approved by the Architecture department. At times objections are raised over the plans,which are then modified and resent,” he says.

Mayor Kamlesh says planning can do away with such delays. “It is the case with many projects. Estimates are approved in the House,but construction does not start on time and expenditure increases. Such unnecessary expenditure can be avoided by careful planning.”