A green space does not guarantee residents recreational facilities in the city.

Two parks that were developed for residents to take a stroll, for children to play and for youths to laze around in are sitting pretty for months, as they have not yet been opened to the public.

An open ground on Road No. 3 in the New Patliputra Colony area was developed into a swanky park in 2011-12. A year later, wild vegetation has sprung up on the premises.

What is worse, nobody is willing to take responsibility for the park. Neither residents of Patliputra Co-operative Society nor its authorities know who developed it. They are even in the dark on who owns the park.

Chairman of the society P.K. Verma said: “The Patliputra Co-operative Society does not look after the park. The government developed it. Questions on opening the park and its maintenance should be directed at the government.”

The co-operative society looks after the civic requirements of the residents, though.

The Telegraph procured a list of 70 parks in Patna from the urban development and housing department.

Several parks among it have been developed by Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited, rural works department and National Rural Employment Programme among others.

The New Patliputra Colony park, however, does not figure on the list.

Residents living in front of the park said it was developed in 2011-12. “It was originally an open ground where children played cricket. The park’s development started in early 2011 and it was ready by late-2012,” said Sanjeev Kumar Singh, a Patna High Court advocate and New Patliputra Colony resident.

Sources said administrative bottlenecks in transferring responsibility for the park’s maintenance have resulted in the curtains not going up on it. “As far as I know, more than Rs 5 crore was spent on the development of this park. Though it was ready last year, it was never opened. The contractor who developed the park had told us it would be opened after the maintenance of the ground was handed over to an agency,” said Akhauri B. Prasad, who lives in House No. 158 in Patliputra Colony.

The fate of the second park at Phase II in Alamganj’s Nooranibagh locality is no better, if not worse.

Developed by Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCo) at an estimated outlay of Rs 80 lakh, work on the park started in August 2011 and ended around May 2013.

Former urban development and housing minister Prem Kumar even inaugurated the park — spread over 2,400sqm — on June 3.

Apart from a jogging track, children’s park, lighting and sitting arrangements, the park has a rock garden and an artificial waterfall.

Delay in transferring the park’s maintenance work to an agency is the reason behind it remaining closed.

“The park cannot be kept open without any security and steady maintenance. Otherwise, criminals would damage the property and safety issues would arise. An agency has been selected for looking after the park’s maintenance and we are expecting that it would be opened in a couple of weeks, once the formalities are completed,” said a senior BUIDCo officer.

Which agency should be given the responsibility of maintaining the parks? Tell ttbihar@abp.in