Entry fee at gardens proposed
Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 10
If a proposal of the Horticulture Department, Municipal Corporation, is approved, people will have to pay entry fee at major gardens or green belts in the city.
“An entry fee between Rs 10 and Rs 20 at these places will increase our revenue. Entry fee can be charged at Fragrance Garden, Sector 36; Rose Garden, Sector 16; Shivalik Garden, Mani Majra; Japenese Garden, Sector 31; and Valley of Animals, Sector 49, and others,” said a report of the department presented to an MC panel.
It has also suggested issuing paid passes to morning and evening walkers. A licence fee for erecting hedges on municipal land adjoining to residential areas has also been proposed. If these recommendations are approved by the committee, then they are expected to be tabled before MC House.
However, these recommendations have not gone down well with residents. “How will residents enjoy the beauty of the city? In some areas where neighbourhood parks are not maintained, residents go to these gardens for a walk. If entry fee is imposed, then people will shy away from going for a walk there,” said Hitesh Puri, Chairman, Federation of Sectors Welfare Associations of Chandigarh.
“These are not tourism places such as Rock Garden or Sukhna Lake. These are basic facilities given to common people. And this move will not give much revenue to the corporation,” he added.
Other departments have also made recommendations to the panel. Taxes on building plan approvals and ads on rotaries have also been recommended. Besides, there is a proposal to charge NOC fee from hotels and monthly charges from businesses and markets as per the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Loss due to Covid
The departments have also listed loss of revenue due to Covid this year. The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office had Rs 2,100-lakh budget estimates approved for 2020-2021. But the revised projection due to Covid is now only Rs 700 lakh. Likewise, the booking branch had an estimated Rs 10-crore budget from bookings of community centres, the revised projection of which is only Rs 6.43 cr. Water collection budget has been revised to Rs 100 crore from Rs 150 crore.
