Panchkula RWAs want HUDA to pay for security gates

On the other hand,as per HUDA’s policy for granting permission to erect safety gates on B-roads,the “entire expenditure” on construction of these gates “shall be borne by concerned RWA”. The policy adds,“ The salary of the watchman shall be borne by the Residents Welfare Association (RWA).”

In Panchkula,an application is required to be made by Resident Welfare Association (RWA) to the estate officer of HUDA for a gate,which will be further considered by the committee headed by Deputy Commissioner,Superintendent of Police and Estate Officer of HUDA.

HUDA has already granted permission for gates in Sector 12,8 and 11 and Sectors 6,7,15 and 17 are in queue. However,in Sectors 10,6,17 and 4 ,mushrooming of gates,without permission of HUDA,has been witnessed.

A gate costs around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 and a Sector will require 8 to 10 gates. A house hold has to shell out Rs 1500 Rs 2,000 for the gate.

“Residents should not share the burden of erecting security gates. It is the duty of the administration to provide security to its citizens. If the SAS Nagar model is implemented,the cost incurred will be less,” said S K Nayar,president of the Citizen Welfare Association (CWA).

“Where ever the gates are located,the residents are reluctant to pay for security guards. So the whole objective of providing security by gates fails,” said Lily Bawa,Congress councillor from ward number 20 and senior vice president of CWA.

“There are sectors where we have Low Income Group (LIG) flats and quarters of government employees,for whom paying that much will not be possible,” said Nayar.

In a recent meeting of RWAs,it was demanded that HUDA must issue no objection certificate if they got any sponsorship from firms for advertising their products on these gates.

Also,there is no HUDA policy on security gates for houses on A-roads. “ The HUDA should frame policy for residents on A-roads,particularly parts of Sector 11 facing Sector 4,parts of Sector 7 facing Sector 6,parts of Sector 7 facing Sector 8,and parts of Sector 15 facing Sector 14,” said Seema Sharma,resident of Sector 7.