The Times of India 17.08.2010
Not much space to breathe, residents feel cheated
Shrinking open spaces and neglected parks, green belts show that Mohali, the future city of Punjab, has failed to match Chandigarh and Panchkula. In many areas, parks and green belts are being used for parking of vehicles, which has resulted in residents not going there for their regular walks.
Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Mohali municipal council (MC) are yet to sort out the issue of maintenance of parks and green belts, while in some areas resident welfare associations themselves have taken up the challenge.
Although a month has passed since Mohali MC adopted a resolution to look after the 500-odd parks located within the city taking over from GMADA, the truth is that there has been absolutely no maintenance work carried out in any of the parks till date.
BS Tej, president, Citizens Welfare Federation, Mohali, who has been living in the city for the last 28 years, said that the fast-developing city has failed to keep adequate provision for open spaces, which is the result of faulty planning. "Residents have been denied their right of adequate open space," he alleged.
Many feel that initially Mohali was just an industrial town and was later developed for residential purpose. "New sectors being planned have provision for better open spaces, but old phases lack the same," said Tej. The Leisure valley dividing city was once considered to be among the largest maintained open spaces in the country, with plans for further expansion, but the idea was shelved and the land used for construction of quarters. Having a population of over three lakh, Mohali right now does not even have a sports complex with running tracks which could be alternatively used by residents for daily strolls as well.
"We hardly go for a stroll in the parks due to their poor maintenance. It is a shame that the city has no such facility that can add leisure to the lives of residents," complains Sehaj Sandhu, a resident of Phase 7, Mohali. Madhur Preet, another resident of Sector 60, said that in Mohali public spaces are a victim of negligence. "The issue of maintaining the parks has remained unsolved for a long time. No matter how much you complain, nothing ever is done to improve the situation," she says.
In Mohali there are over 500 big and small parks and around 90 parks have been handed over to various resident welfare associations for maintenance, for which maintenance charge of Re 1.30 per square meter is paid to them.
Surjeet Bajwa, a resident of Phase-3B2, feels that the move to hand over maintenance of parks to residents was wrong. "Residents should not have been given this responsibility, when government bodies like GMADA and MC are present," he said.
It is not the residents alone who are complaining as even the elected public representatives rue the same. CouncillorHarman Preet Singh Prince said that lack of coordination between GMADA and MC has led to parks being neglected. "It was only in June this year that MC actually committed to maintaining over 500 parks in the city. The condition of the parks was not very good when we surveyed them about two weeks ago as these were not being looked after by GMADA since April. I have directed officials to look into the matter and draw up a list of parks requiring urgent maintenance and repair work," said MC president Rajinder Singh Rana.
