Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) has issued a show-cause notice to a private firm holding maintenance contract of Indira Priyadarshini Park on allegations that the basic structure of the park has been altered for commercial purposes. The GMC had set a 10-day deadline on the firm to reply to the charges, which expired on Saturday.The notice was issued on December 5 based on findings of a committee set up to examine if the terms and conditions of the contract had been violated. The 52-acre park, located off GT Road near the banks of the Hindon river, had been handed over to the private firm for maintenance for 27 years on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in September 2006.In July this year, a sitting councillor of the municipal corporation, Rajendra Tyagi, had alleged that the firm had violated several terms and conditions in the contract. A three-member panel was appointed by the corporation to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.The panel, which submitted its report in September, found that three farmhouses had been constructed within the park which were being rented out for marriages and other functions.The contract laid down terms upon the private contractor for cleaning Arthala lake, located in the backyard of the park, and introducing modern boating facilities. However, the inquiry panel did not find any work undertaken by the firm in this direction. Furthermore, the firm also did not find a children’s fun zone inside the park which was one of the necessary pre-conditions of the contract.“The firm does not have permission from any government authority for the three marriage mandaps constructed within the park. The park has been diverted for commercial purposes. Commercial units, including a cafeteria, are also running within the park,” Tyagi told TOI.Sources in GMC said that the firm had not sent its reply to the show-cause notice by Saturday. “The notice had been issued on the basis of the findings of the inquiry committee following allegations against the firm. The next course of action will be taken after examining the issue again in detail,” said municipal commissioner C P Singh.

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