Chandigarh, January 16
The UT Administration today carried out a “futile” survey in the area beyond the main plaza in Sector 17 for making it lively by sprucing up the environs and getting some tourist outlets functioning. The area remains dark and dead after office hours every day.
Senior functionaries of the administration are said to be trying to “liven up” the area, particularly during evening hours. However, survey officials said they did not know what they were doing. “The exercise is totally impractical,” a senior functionary said.
During the survey, it was found that about 90 per cent offices were being run on the ground floor of these buildings. “We have sent our report to the UT Adviser,” said Rahul Gupta, assistant estate officer. Terming the survey a futile exercise, a senior official of the administration, requesting anonymity, said nothing would come out of it.
Today’s survey by the estate office aimed at furnishing complete details of shops as well as offices being run on the ground floor of the buildings. A surveyor said: “We have done the survey, but we don’t know for what. The administration cannot ask private offices or banks, particularly on the ground floor, to clear their premises for some ambitious project of the administration to promote tourism.”
The survey was conducted following the directions of the Adviser, KK Sharma, to the UT Administrator who wanted to infuse “life” into the area.
This is not the first time that the administration or the municipal corporation has chalked out a plan in this direction. About half a dozen projects of beautification of the business hub by the MC were either kept in abeyance or scrapped for over a decade.
“What will they do after getting the details of shops and offices in the area? Are they planning to evacuate the offices from here to give the place to shops? I am unable to understand the initiative,” the official remarked.
Classic examples include projects like multi-level parking; conversion of circus ground into an exhibition site; and making plaza a vehicle-free zone. These have been put in the cold storage for the last over five years. As per the records of the MC, the proposal of five multi-level parkings was mooted in 2005. The authorities planned to construct a multi-level parking on each corner of Sector 17. But the projects have yet to start.
Another project recommended in 2006 was to make plaza a vehicle-free zone, which has been shelved. As per the proposal, the authorities suggested that all parking lots near the plaza should be closed and landscaping should be undertaken at those sites.
Similarly, a project of Rs 60 lakh for converting the circus ground in Sector 17 into an exhibition ground for proper maintenance of the space has been lying pending for over seven years. The proposal to construct a boundary wall around this open space and provide it with proper public toilets and parking space near the ground has been hanging fire.
In 2009, the corporation commenced work on an amusement park near the general post office in Sector 17, but it has not been completed yet.
The UT Administration today carried out a “futile” survey in the area beyond the main plaza in Sector 17 for making it lively by sprucing up the environs and getting some tourist outlets functioning. The area remains dark and dead after office hours every day.
Senior functionaries of the administration are said to be trying to “liven up” the area, particularly during evening hours. However, survey officials said they did not know what they were doing. “The exercise is totally impractical,” a senior functionary said.
During the survey, it was found that about 90 per cent offices were being run on the ground floor of these buildings. “We have sent our report to the UT Adviser,” said Rahul Gupta, assistant estate officer. Terming the survey a futile exercise, a senior official of the administration, requesting anonymity, said nothing would come out of it.
Today’s survey by the estate office aimed at furnishing complete details of shops as well as offices being run on the ground floor of the buildings. A surveyor said: “We have done the survey, but we don’t know for what. The administration cannot ask private offices or banks, particularly on the ground floor, to clear their premises for some ambitious project of the administration to promote tourism.”
The survey was conducted following the directions of the Adviser, KK Sharma, to the UT Administrator who wanted to infuse “life” into the area.
This is not the first time that the administration or the municipal corporation has chalked out a plan in this direction. About half a dozen projects of beautification of the business hub by the MC were either kept in abeyance or scrapped for over a decade.
“What will they do after getting the details of shops and offices in the area? Are they planning to evacuate the offices from here to give the place to shops? I am unable to understand the initiative,” the official remarked.
Past failures
In the budget of the current year, the MC had allocated Rs 1 crore for improving the infrastructure in the sector. But the past record of the projects -- some of them are over a decade old -- is poor as most of the projects have failed to see the light of the day. Classic examples include projects like multi-level parking; conversion of circus ground into an exhibition site; and making plaza a vehicle-free zone. These have been put in the cold storage for the last over five years. As per the records of the MC, the proposal of five multi-level parkings was mooted in 2005. The authorities planned to construct a multi-level parking on each corner of Sector 17. But the projects have yet to start.
Another project recommended in 2006 was to make plaza a vehicle-free zone, which has been shelved. As per the proposal, the authorities suggested that all parking lots near the plaza should be closed and landscaping should be undertaken at those sites.
Similarly, a project of Rs 60 lakh for converting the circus ground in Sector 17 into an exhibition ground for proper maintenance of the space has been lying pending for over seven years. The proposal to construct a boundary wall around this open space and provide it with proper public toilets and parking space near the ground has been hanging fire.
In 2009, the corporation commenced work on an amusement park near the general post office in Sector 17, but it has not been completed yet.
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