Mohali parks cry for maintenance

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 10

While Mohali is aspiring to become a smart city, some parks here continue to be in a poor condition due to wild growth. Playground equipment (slides, swing set, see-saw and climbing frame) too are in an urgent need of repair.

According to sources, the company selected for the maintenance of a majority of parks in the city was not undertaking the task properly. At these Municipal Corporation (MC), the issue was raised by Deputy Mayor Manjeet Singh Sethi and it was stated that a show-cause notice would be issued to the company.

In a U-turn, Mayor Kulwant Singh said the decision regarding the show-cause notice was yet to be taken. He said, “We will assess the work done and issue a warning if the condition of parks was not up to the standards.” “I have not received a lot of complaints about the issue,” he added.

An MC official said they had received the charge for maintaining the parks from Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) on July 1, 2017. “Two private companies that have been given the contract for over 530 parks are Kartik Electricals and Star Cooperative Society. Kartik Electricals mainly looks after the maintenance of the parks. Star Cooperative Society looks after the development of smaller triangular and roadside parks,” the official said.

The MC official added that the contract for the upkeep of the parks was given at an annual cost of Rs 4 crore. In addition to it, GMADA pays Rs 60 crore annually to the MC for various works, including horticulture, repair of main roads and parks.

Deputy Mayor Manjeet Singh Sethi said in the past two months, the firm had done a shoddy job. “This is a wastage of taxpayers’ money. The company is not cutting the grass in the parks. Some parks have not been cleaned for the past two months.”

“Moreover, the company is using a bush cutter to cut the grass whereas the rules state that the grass should exclusively be cut by a machine and a bush cutter should be used sparingly.

The firm has not submitted supporting documents of the employees on its payroll. We received a list of 192 names, but in that list over 40 names appear to be repeated,” he added.

Meanwhile, residents complained about the poor condition of parks. Vineet Verma, President RWA, Ward No. 19, said the drainage system in the park adjacent to his house was poor. “Water collects when it rains, posing a threat of vector-borne diseases. The track is in bad shape. I have been complaining for the past six months, but the officials have not paid any heed it.”

SP Jain, a resident of Phase 1, said the lights in the park had not been operational for the past two years. “They (officials) came to set up a slide for children but left the work incomplete. Children can sustain injuries due to that.”

In some parks, swings and climbing frames were broken and residents had parked their cars there. Paramjit Singh Kahlon, councillor, Phase VII, said he had raised the issue before several times. “Grass is not being cut on time and the maintenance of parks continues to be neglected,” he said.