Hyderabad: It has been alleged that a few resident welfare associations are renting out community halls of the GHMC for various occasions and there are no records of the money collected, which is meant to be spent for maintenance of the halls. There are 3,000 registered RWAs in the city, and each cluster of 5-6 colonies has one community hall. It is alleged that renting out such halls has become a moneymaking racket.
N. Shanth Arvind, resident of Mehdipatnam, said, “After the construction of the colony community hall, the GHMC had asked the resident welfare association to handle its maintenance; after a while it was handed over to a third party. Without permission, the party constructed a kitchen and would regularly rent it out for functions and the cost for each occasion doubled. No one knows where the amount is being spent. Not more than Rs 7,000 is used for maintenance, including the watchman and sweepers’ charges. Electricity and fee for the chairs are also paid by the customers.”
The Arul Colony community hall at AS Rao Nagar is in another controversy. Initially the hall, with two stages and a huge space for parking, was rented out for Rs 2,000 a day that included electricity, water and cleaning charges. However, the colony association, without consulting the GHMC, raised the fee to Rs 5,000. A fight between the community members brought the issue to light. Now its is being rented out for Rs 2,500 under GHMC control.
