Ghaziabad: Construction of Haj House still on, facility yet to be handed over to UP Haj committee

There have been numerous deliberations over the facility and protesters on Monday had demanded the opening of the house for the benefit of Haj pilgrims

The officials of the Ghaziabad district administration on Wednesday said the newly constructed ‘Ala Hazrat Haj House’ is yet to be handed over to the UP Haj committee.

The construction agency said that three floors of the building are yet to completed owing to paucity of funds. A case is also pending before the National Green Tribunal on whether the facility had come up on the Hindon floodplains. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

There have been numerous deliberations over the facility and protesters on Monday had demanded the opening of the house for the benefit of Haj pilgrims.

The officials said they sought a clarification and received a reply from the executive officer of UP Haj committee that the facility is yet to be handed over to the committee by the executing agency, the Construction & Design Services (C&DS).

In another communication received by the administration from the C&DS, the agency has said the construction work on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors is pending due to paucity of funds.

The agency also said Rs 3,577 lakh was sanctioned in February 2014 and the cost was revised to Rs 4,919 lakh later and that amount too was sanctioned, but the agency is yet to receive the balance amount.

“The two communications make it clear that there are several factors for the Haj House not being opened. The decision is taken by the state government and not taken at the local level. Further, a litigation is also pending before the NGT (national Green Tribunal),” said Gyanendra Singh, additional district magistrate.

On July 27, HT had reported that the facility was yet to be opened. In response, UP minister Mohsin Raza had said that the decision not to make the Haj House operational was taken by the Akhilesh Yadav government and the present government continued with it.

“The decision was taken by the previous government as the matter was before the NGT. The decision was taken to protect the environment and the river ecology. When thousands of pilgrims arrive here, it is bound to create garbage issues,” Raza had said.