Delhi HC slams DDA; says people want parks, not community centres

People in the national capital appeared to be more concerned about having community centres than parks, the Delhi High Court on Monday lamented while extending till December 8 its interim order putting on hold the construction of a community centre by the DDA.

The court was hearing a PIL challenging the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) decision to convert a park in a north Delhi residential area into a community centre.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said, "Everybody wants community centres at their doorstep. Are there enough parks for the people in the area?"

The PIL, filed on behalf of a minor girl, has sought a direction to restrain the DDA from "destroying the park" in north Delhi's Rohini area by constructing the multi-storey community hall inside the Hanuman Mandir park there.

The petitioner's counsel, Akhil Sachar, claimed that the residents of the locality, especially children, were severely affected and aggrieved by the "illegal and arbitrary decision" of the DDA to construct the centre which will "destroy" the 30-year-old park.

The plea claimed that there was a vacant plot of DDA land available in the area which was planned for community services so there was no justification to destroy the park.