₹2.68-crore sports facility in ruins within year of opening

A few hundred metres from the Delhi-Jaipur expressway in Kapashera lies a two-storey sports complex.

- Karn Pratap Singh

NEW DELHI: Spread over 3 acres, the structure is in a dilapidated state — since its inauguration around a year ago, thieves have run off with electrical and bathroom fittings, windows, and even doors, and the compound today has become decrepit.

The complex was constructed at a cost of ₹2.68 crore by the Delhi government's irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department using funds from the Delhi Village Development Board, following a decade-long struggle by residents of Kapashera village for a recreational facility in the area. However, locals allege that though Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader BS Joon — the then Bijwasan legislator — inaugurated the complex in March 2024, the structure was not officially handed over to those living in the vicinity, any RWA, or even a non-profit for repairs or upkeep.

With the complex lacking even basic security apparatus, it became a haven for drug addicts and "anti-social elements", villagers allege, and has become ramshackle in just a year.

The issue became a talking point in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and South Delhi MP Rambir Singh Bidhuri sought lieutenant governor VK Saxena's intervention in the matter. Saxena, in turn, asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to take over the complex, though that is yet to take place, officials said.