Sanjay Bumbroo
Panchkula, October 17
A new building of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation being constructed in Sector 3 here is likely to miss the December 31 deadline for its completion.
The office of the MC is likely to be shifted to the new building in the month of May next year. Till then, the office will continue to operate from two buildings in Sector 4 and Sector 14.
The project began in the year 2018 and was to be completed by the end of 2021. On the instructions of Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, the target was set to complete the construction work by December this year. However, the construction work may still take about eight more months to be completed. At present, the work on centralised AC, heating and ventilation is being carried out.
The new MC building is being constructed on 2.09 acres at an estimated cost of about Rs 45 crore.
People have been facing problems in moving from one branch to another to get their MC-related works done. At the Sector 14 office, there is hardly any sitting arrangement for people waiting for their turn.
Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal and MC Commissioner Virender Lather conduct regular inspection at the under construction building.
Gupta had earlier asked the MC to provide him with a detailed report on the progress of the project. He had stated that the if the contractor did not complete the work in time, then the period of the construction should be extended with a penalty and if the work was not completed even on the new date, the contractor and the agency should be blacklisted.
The Mayor said efforts were being made to expedite the work. It was expected that the construction would be completed in six to eight months, he added.
