People show GHMC isn’t key for developing colony
Shanthinagar lives up to its name. A colony with a combination of independent houses and apartments, it has two conference halls, a senior citizen’s room, tennis courts, theme parks and even a guest house for visitors, all built not by the GHMC but by contributions from the residents welfare association.
The half-a-century-old colony located in Masab Tank, near Niloufer Hospital, has hosted conferences of the National United Federation of RWAs, as it has the sprawling green space to do so.
The colony has won an award for greenery at a Biodiversity conference and the GHMC gave it a best colony award.
Shanthinagar sits on 25 acres and has four main roads and four crossroads. The approved layout has open space for parks and buildings. The RWA maintains three parks supported by the GHMC.
Shanthinagar RWA president Ashwin Kumar said the the layout was divided into 120 plots for independent homes and apartments. The facilities have been built over a period of a few decades. A sum of `20 lakh was spent on infrastructure building.
“Our main source of income is through renting out the conference and community halls and tennis courts. Also, `50 is collected every month as subscription from members. The colony houses 2,000 residents, with 600-plus families registered with the RWA. The maintenance per month works out to `30,000,” he said.
The latest addition is a large screen for live telecasts.
“The RWA has now planned to install an elevator for the first-floor hall and also to build a canteen,” Mr Kumar said.