Haryana govt to push developers on unused community sites

The department of town and country planning (DTCP) has decided to arrange meetings with developers to explore possibilities of developing vacant community sites. Officials plan to examine community sites which are lying vacant or have been transferred to schools, hospitals and other establishments by creating third party rights. The government could also reclaim such sites, as the deadline for building community amenities on these has already expired. TOI had reported on August 7 that at least 45% sites in several licensed colonies and group housing societies across the city, earmarked for community amenities such as clubs, crèches, schools and police posts, were lying vacant, even after the six-year deadline set by the state government in 2012 for building community amenities on these expired in April this year. The report also said of the 1,106 sites approved by the government, only 489 had been utilised by realtors to build community amenities. Builders are yet to use 509 sites, while construction is going on at 108 sites. A senior DTCP official said every concerned developer would be called separately for discussions on the matter. He said the department will enquire whether a builder was planning to develop the site or not. “The department will arrange the meetings to explore the possibilities of developing these community sites,” he said.