MC to seek approval to construct playgrounds in residential areas

The Municipal Corporation will be seeking approval for the construction of playgrounds in residential areas with facilities for sports like badminton or volleyball from the UT Chief Architect. The councillors have been asked to identify spaces in the sectors where they want such a facility to be made. The decision was taken in the meeting of the general house held on Friday.

The issue came up for discussion as some agenda items had been proposed for Sectors 15, 18, 19 and 21 wherein it was proposed that the undeveloped parks or open spaces could be converted into playgrounds. The lack of space for children to play in has been a constant issue of discussion. While several proposals have been mooted time and again, there is still no proper place for children to play in.

While agenda items for specific sectors were presented before the House, councillor Pardeep Chhabra pointed out that similar agenda items for his ward were approved more than a year ago. However, the proposal was not cleared by the Chief Architect.

Municipal Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh suggested that the agenda be given in principle approval and the proposals be sent to the Chief Architect for getting clearance.

It was further suggested that the councillors could identify the parks and open spaces in their wards that they wanted converted into playgrounds so that permission can be sought for specific parks.

The Commissioner stated that while there is no approval required in leaving the parks without developing these so that children can play and residents can use the space, for making playgrounds, permission is needed.

Councillor Arun Sood pointed out that with there being too many parks in the city, the MC was not able to maintain these. These could be converted into playgrounds after consultation with the residents.

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