The state commission for protection of child rights has asked the maintenance board of a housing complex in north Calcutta to earmark an area where children can play five days a week.
The remaining two days should be spent on the upkeep of the play area, the commission said at a hearing at its headquarters on June 19.
A list of the recommendations, dated June 26, has been sent to Orbit Sky View, a gated community in Paikpara with four towers and around 220 flats.A section of residents in the complex had filed a complaint with the commission alleging that the “board of directors” in charge of the maintenance of the complex were “ostracising” children for playing on a “patch of green” on the premises.
The board, also made up of flat owners, denied the allegations, asserting that it was only following the bylaws of the complex that “all owners and residents are aware of and must adhere to”.
According to the bylaws, there is no provision for a playground in the complex and the patch of green has been designated as a “lawn or a garden”, the board said. The rules prohibit any sporting activities on the turf and bars children over the age of five from playing on the lawn, said a member of the board.
After hearing both sides, the commission made the following recommendations;The children should be allowed to play freely in a safe and secure designated play area in the aforementioned complex five days a week.The specified playing area should be adequately maintained and should be under maintenance two days each week... Playing on these two days of the week is not allowed.
The commission prohibits any type of harassment of children while they are playing.
The recommendations may set a precedent for many gated communities that are a divided house on one issue — open spaces for children to play, or the lack of them.
Many sprawling housing complexes do not have a designated ground for outdoor games. The lawns and gardens, residents are told, are not for outdoor games but for aesthetic value.
Asked about the need for physical activities, the developers point to table tennis boards, badminton courts, swimming pools and gyms.
Multiple residents of Orbit Sky View told this newspaper the problem started after Covid. A majority of them requested not to be named.
“Some children used to play in the driveway earlier. It was in the wake of Covid that children started spending more and more time inside the complex. Some of them started playing cricket and football on the lawn,” said a flat owner.
The alleged occupation of the lawn irked a section of owners, who argued that sporting activity would make it barren, prompting the board’s intervention.
“There is only one proper place where children can play. That is the lawn. For a long time, some residents have been objecting to this. But the institutionalised repression is new. In some cases, the children had their cricket kit taken away,” said a flat owner who is among the complainants to the commission.
The stand-off led to a referendum. Ballot papers with three options — no restriction on playing on the lawn, only kids below the age of five can play, and kids can play on Saturdays and Sundays — were sent to all residents.
The counting, on May 29, showed 23 votes in favour of the first option, 55 votes for the second and 49 votes for the third.
The flat owners who are against any curbs have questioned the board’s right to conduct the poll. “It is partisan,” said one of them.
Another resident from the same camp, Mukesh Chaturvedi, said: “There is no better sight than children playing on a field. My own children have grown up and no longer play now. But I still support children who want to play in the open.”
A member of the board, who requested anonymity, said: “Our mandate is to ensure that the rules are followed and the property is maintained properly. Flat owners who were charged a premium for a patch of green inside the complex are objecting to sporting activities that damage the greenery.”
Those opposed to playing in the open cited risk to their windowpanes, noise and damage to the green patch. “Senior citizens often fear bodily harm because of the games,” said a resident.
A meeting of flat owners has been convened to decide the course of action now.
“We respect the commission’s recommendations. But existing rules have to be changed to implement them. It has several implications,” the board member said.
Sudeshna Roy, chairperson, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said: “Children cannot be allotted a place anywhere in the complex. Playing on a concrete surface is not safe. That is why we have stressed on a safe and secure designated play area, which can only be found on the lawn.”
The tussle at Orbit Sky View resonates across gated communities in Calcutta.
Binayak Enclave, in Sinthee, has 28 buildings with over 800 flats. But there is no ground for children to play.
“There is a small ground adjacent to the complex. Until a few years ago, children used to play there. But now, the ground has become more of a parking lot. There are many kids who formally train in cricket, football or other outdoor sports. But that is outside the complex,” said Saumitra Biswas, a resident.
At another complex on the southern fringes of the city, owners of duplex apartments surrounding a central lawn object to sporting activities there.“They argue that the lawn gets slushy and dirty if children play there,” said a resident.
At the more premium South City apartments, comprising five towers and over 1,650 flats, a central lawn is the designated play zone.
“The lawn needs regular upkeep. It is curated every year so that children can play there. Half of the ground is maintained at one go, so the other half is left for children to play. Every year, the same lawn is the venue for a cricket tournament involving residents,” said Manoj Gupta, a resident.