E-Paper
Panchkula: Housing government offices, community centres out of bounds of people
In most of the community centres located in Panchkula, offices of the municipal corporation (MC) are operating as the civic body does not have its building
Even after 29 years of being carved out as a district, many government offices in Panchkula are still operating from community centres leaving the centres out of bounds of residents.
It was on August 15, 1995, that Panchkula became the 17th district of Haryana after it was carved out by taking Pinjore, Raipur Rani, Morni and Barwala from Ambala district.
Presently, in 28 sectors of Panchkula, there are 21 community centres of which two—one in Sector 7 and Sector 10—are under construction, while 10 centres are occupied by government offices. In most of the community centres, offices of the municipal corporation (MC) are operating as the civic body does not have its building.
In the Sector-4 community centre, MC office has been operating for the last 12 years while earlier, the municipal council’s office was operating from here. The municipal council came into existence in 2001 and since 2003 the civic body’s office has been operating from this community centre.
Similarly, the community centre in Sector 11 has been under the occupation of MC for the last five years, along with a centre in Sector 12 A. In Sector 21’s old community centre, MC vehicles are parked while in the community centre of Sector 25, MC has kept its iron material. An aadhaar sampark centre is also set up there. A sampark centre is operating from the Sector-26 community centre.
In the Sector-9 community centre, the health department’s malaria wing is operating, community centre in Sector 20 houses the fire department office, community centre in Sector 28 houses the health department’s health and wellness centre, while an old age home has been shifted in a community centre, Sector 12.
Get centres vacated: Citizens’ Welfare Association
Now, the Citizens’ Welfare Association, Panchkula, is knocking Haryana government’s door to get the community centres vacated so that they can be used by the residents of Panchkula for whom they were made.
Association president SK Nayar said, “We have written to the CM to get these vacated as community centres were made for use of the general public.”
The association has written letters to the urban local bodies minister, Haryana assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta, deputy commissioner as well as MC commissioner. But they are yet to get a response.
In the letter, Nayar pointed out that the work of the community centres in Sector 7 and Sector 10 was slow and was started about 18 months back.
A senior MC official, not willing to be named, said the MC offices operating from community centres will be vacated as soon as the MC’s new office building is ready and similarly communication will be sent to other departments to get the community centres vacated.
Mohali residents had moved HC to vacate centres
In Mohali too, community centres were being used for operating government offices, including police stations and district courts, for very long till Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) intervened.
Mohali became a district in 2006, and police stations were operating from community centres the same had to be vacated in 2013 on the directives of the HC. Ankush Club of Mohali 2012 had approached the HC seeking directions to get the community centre vacated and to quash Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)’s decision to construct a mini community centre in the playground measuring about 1.3 acres in Phase 6 since two bigger community centres were already existing within a distance of one km.
The petitioner club had submitted that instead of getting this community centre vacated, GMADA was pressing the construction of a new mini community centre, and that too on a playground. The petitioner said the ground has been used by the area residents for various activities, including sports, social and religious, for the last 20 years.
