HC gives GMADA 6 weeks to empty community centres,establish DACC

Taking up a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former Mohali municipal councillor Kuljeet Singh Bedi through his counsel Ranjivan Singh,a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice A K Goel,directed the GMADA Chief Administrator (CA) to take necessary action on Bedi’s representation in six weeks. Confirming the order issued on Friday,advocate Ranjivan Singh told Newsline here today that the High Court,while disposing of the PIL,gave liberty to the petitioner to move the competent forum again as per the law in case any of his grievances are left after the expiry of the stipulated time period.

Bedi had sought immediate vacation of five of the total of nine community and habitat centres occupied by various government departments and institute,besides setting up of the DACC to provide proper and permanent offices and residential space to the judicial,civil and police administration of Mohali district. The development assumes significance as the temporary arrangement,under which four of the total of eight community centres and the lone habitat centre in the city were taken over for housing police stations,police lines,judicial courts and national institutes,had turned out to be a permanent fixture with the places meant for public utility remaining under occupation of different departments for almost five years now.

Mohali,which already has less than the minimum required number of community centres,is bereft of even the places available for holding community services. The problem arose back in April 2006 when the state government made Mohali an independent district but without creating the basic infrastructure required for the new district headquarters.

Mohali district,which will turn five in April,still has no DACC,following which the district civil,police and judicial administration offices are running from here and there.

A temporary DACC is running from an old PSEB building,which is quite unsafe,in Phase I here. While four of the total of eight community centres have been deprived of community services — for which they are actually meant — since April 2006,a habitat centre in Phase X,which was kept locked ever since it came up few years back,was allotted to house the transit campus of Indian Institute of Nanotechnology last year.

The community centres in Phases VI,XI and Sector 71 are occupied by the district police for setting up the Police Lines and police station while the judicial court complex is running from the community centre in Phase 3B1.

Though the community centres in Phases VI,XI and 3B1 were officially allotted to the Home and Justice Department on a temporary basis,the Sector 71 centre was taken over by the district police “on its own”.

Even as the concerned departments are using the community centres without paying any rent to GMADA,which owns the properties,the GMADA authorities are also reluctant to take up cudgels with those who are presumed to be “high and mighty” police and judicial officials.

Whenever they are questioned about occupying a community centre without prior permission,the district police authorities approach the state government to get the “illegal” possession regularised till permanent arrangements come in place.

The authorities concerned,who had occupied the places as “emergency and temporary arrangements”,assure that they would soon be restored for community services. But in the absence of any other accommodation in sight,the so-called temporary arrangements have become permanent fixtures. Even as the public are being deprived of using them for marriage parties and other social functions,the government facilities running from these places are also facing an acute space crunch.

It was on December 1 that Bedi,a senior Congress leader,had moved a representation to GMADA CA Vivek Partap Singh,giving him 30 days to evict government departments and national institutes from the community and habitat centre and warning that he would otherwise drag GMADA to court.

After not getting any response or action on his representation,Bedi approached the High Court on Thursday against the GMADA authorities for not getting their property vacated from what he termed “illegal” occupation by government departments and the “failure” to establish a DACC here.