Free community centre bookings dent Chandigarh civic body revenue

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, July 7

With no fee being charged for nearly half of the community centre bookings, the cash-starved Municipal Corporation is suffering a loss of over Rs 2 crore annually.

According to the booking record procured from the MC by Chandigarh Tribune, a total of 4,054 events were held at community centres last year. Of these, no fee was charged for 1,891 bookings. The MC earned a revenue of Rs 2.94 crore, which could have been double had the authorities not allowed the use of the centres for free.

In 2022, a total of 3,583 events were organised and no fee was charged for 1,571 bookings. The total revenue generated was Rs 2.64 crore.

Councillors are allowed to offer community centres for free in case of poor girl child’s marriage, but this facility is often misused. There is no check on this misuse of MC property as no valid proof is required while booking a centre.

Many councillors oblige their kin and ward residents under this facility, burning a big hole in the pocket of the civic body.

A councillor shared, “Many use this facility to oblige people of their wards or for own vested interests. The scheme is being misused and should be scrapped. It is not only affecting the corporation’s revenue but is also against the basic principle of levying the same fee on all residents.”

“How can you allow use of community centres, which have been constructed at a cost of about Rs 8 crore each, for free. Why cannot people, who can afford food for 300 people besides decoration and tenting during an event, pay the booking fee of Rs 60,000,” he questioned.

Many in the MC feel that free use of these centres should be allowed only to BPL (Below Poverty Line) card holders when it comes to poor girl child’s marriage.

Other than poor girl child’s marriage, there are also no booking charges for holding kriya/bhog/rasam pagri and monthly meetings by registered RWAs at the centres.

Mayor Kuldeep Kumar said, “There have been concerns about allowing use of community centres by councillors for free. Thus, I have proposed that fee exemption for girl child’s marriage should be given only in colonies and villages. If one is not economically sound, then he/she should book a community centre in a rural area, which costs about Rs 15,000 per booking. We are also reviewing exemption under other categories.”

No fee charged for 1,891 bookings in 2022

According to the booking record procured from the MC by Chandigarh Tribune, a total of 4,054 events were held at community centres last year. Of these, no fee was charged for 1,891 bookings. The MC earned a revenue of Rs 2.94 crore, which could have been double had the authorities not allowed the use of the centres for fee.