Chandigarh civic body revises community centre policy: free use for poor girls' weddings, RWAs meet; rituals payable
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) has decided to continue offering free use of community centres for weddings of girls from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, as well as for meetings of Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) and Senior Citizen Associations, but ceremonies such as 'pagdi' and post-funeral meals (kriya bhog) will now attract a 25 per cent booking charge.
These events were previously exempt, but the policy was revised after opposition to an initially proposed 50 per cent fee.
The new draft policy, which includes revised usage rules and updated pricing, will be presented for approval in the MC House meeting scheduled on June 3. Earlier drafts that suggested charges for RWA meetings and poor girls' weddings were rolled back, following strong objections from civic groups.
Revised booking charges across categories
Booking fees for community centres are set to increase across the board. Category-A centres, currently priced at Rs 44,000 (including tax), will now be available for Rs 60,000 (excluding tax). Centres previously available for Rs 22,000 will now cost Rs 40,000 and applicable tax. For Category C centres, charges will increase from the previous range of Rs 5,000–Rs 22,000 to Rs 15,000–Rs 30,000.
Membership-based access introduced
The Corporation is also introducing an annual membership model for community centres, similar to club memberships. The annual fee has been fixed at Rs 1,000 for Category A and B centres and Rs 500 for senior citizens. For Category C centres, it will be Rs 500 and Rs 250 for senior citizens. Members will enjoy privileges such as discounted bookings and access to facilities like gyms and indoor games.
The operation of each centre will be overseen by a management committee, with the area mayor acting as patron and the local councilor as chairperson. Nominated councillors and departmental SDEs will also be included in these panels.
PPP model for operations and expansion
Under a new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, five community centres — located in Sectors 37, 38-West, 40, 49 and 50 — will be operated and maintained by private companies. The company offering the highest revenue share will win the contract. These operators will be allowed to rebrand the centres, but booking charges cannot exceed 1.5 times the base rate.
Additionally, Request for Proposals (RFPs) will be floated to construct new centres on vacant land in Sectors 24, 51, 63 and Bapu Dham (Sector 26), and to redevelop existing centres in Sector 29 and Thakurdwara (Manimajra), along with managing the Rose Club in Sector 16. These contracts will be for 15 years initially, extendable by five years.
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