1-year-old south-west Delhi sports facility built after 10-yr struggle in ruins | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi

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

Even as Joon insisted that he asked the district magistrate to ensure the handover of the complex, 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.

In the meanwhile, some local sports enthusiasts have formed a collective named Kapashera Sports Society, have pooled in money, have cut the long bushes that grew on the premises, and have created a temporary space outside the building for volleyball, badminton, and kabaddi.

A long-standing dream that quickly evaporated

Local residents said the demand for a sports complex near the village dates back to more than a decade — they said many youngsters were forced to travel as far away as Dwarka or Palam to use facilities for sports such as badminton, squash, table-tennis, kabaddi, and tennis.

In 2015, when the AAP formed the government in Delhi, a group of residents, along with the then legislator Devinder Sehrawat, met the local administration and demanded that a vacant piece of land in the village be used to construct a sports facility and community centre, said Deepak Yadav, a villager.

Eventually, a 3-acre parcel of land in Kapashera village was earmarked for the complex. “In 2019, the government approved the project and sanctioned money for developing the vacant land into a recreational complex,” said Yadav.

After the land use of the land parcel was converted into non-agricultural use, construction for a community centre and the sports complex began in 2022.

Rajesh Vats, a social worker from the village, said Joon inaugurated the community centre in February 2023, while the sports complex was launched the following year.

“However, the official handing over procedures of both structures were not completed, due to which the complex remained non-functional and unguarded. The buildings became a haven for drug addicts and thieves, who took advantage of the administration’s apathy and removed doors, windows, electrical and bathroom fittings, and sold them in grey markets. We made several representations before the MLA and the district administration, requesting them to prevent the structures from turning into ruins. But our requests fell on deaf ears,” said Yadav, adding that he and others finally banded together in August 2024 and formed the Kapashera Sports Society in September in order to care for the complex.

When contacted, Joon said the complex should have been handed over to some agency to safeguard the structure. “I had asked the district magistrate to hand over the sports complex to any institution or RWAs. However, it did not happen. The facility was vandalized and the items installed in the building were stolen by thieves soon after I inaugurated the complex in March last year,” he said.

Calls and texts to DM Lakshya Singhal remained unanswered at the time of going to print.

What the future holds

HT visited the sports facility on February 17 and found it to be in a poor condition. Marble and tiles on the staircases leading to the building’s ground and first floors were broken or missing, while the doors and windows on the ground floor — which villagers said were made of wood — were nowhere to be found. In the bathrooms, fittings were either stolen or were damaged to such an extent that they could not be used in the future. Vacant spaces started back in places where electrical switches and sockets were once placed, while electrical wires themselves had been pulled out.

However, there were some signs of repair — inside the hall were two synthetic wrestling mats, which looked recently mended. To the right of the main building was a freshly prepared kabaddi court, while a nearby volleyball court had a coat of fresh paint: all efforts of the Kapashera Sports Society.

Villager Rahul Kumar said members of the sports society held meetings with local politicians and the administration, seeking their approval to open up the complex and fund its cleaning and repairs.

“When nothing happened, the society pooled in money and took contributions from villagers. They arranged tractors and grass-cutting machines. They worked tirelessly for several days to clean the property. Thereafter, they made temporary pitches for basketball and kabaddi games and started playing there with like-minded sports lovers. The footfall increased slowly and gradually,” he said.

Vats, the social activist, said the villagers raised the issue before the candidates in the recently concluded Delhi polls. They also met South Delhi MP Bidhuri for support, he said.

“Due to the MP’s intervention, the LG visited the complex… We have now learnt from the MP’s representatives that the LG has asked DDA to take over the complex and upgrade it into a high-class sports facility. Our struggle will reach a logical conclusion if the DDA takes over the complex and provides the children and youngsters with world class sports facilities that would shape their future,” he said.

Bidhuri said the sports complex was in a dilapidated condition when the LG visited in December. “Directions were issued to revamp the sports complex so that the locals can avail the benefits of the facility. The authorities were also directed to open a hospital in the area for the locals,” he said.

However, the sports complex is yet to be transferred to the authority.

“We have been informed about it and were told to conduct an inspection. However, the area has not been formally handed over to DDA yet. Once we receive it formally, we will start the planning, which will then be formalised and sent to the vice chairman and the LG for approval,” a senior DDA official said, on condition of anonymity.

Bidhuri said, “I have scheduled a meeting with DDA officials on the project. Necessary directions have been given to the officials concerned to speed up the work on the complex revamp.”