Doubts over plan for Taj Mahal

Some members of the Auckland Indian Association say they have no confidence in the committee behind the proposed $20 million "Taj Mahal" cultural centre - because it has been unable to get a code of compliance certificate for the existing centre eight years after it opened.

"We could have the eighth wonder in Auckland, the world's first leaky-home Taj Mahal," said the member, who did not want to be named.

"Many who have donated to the original building will also think twice about contributing to this project because if it is like the first, more money will be spent fixing it than building it."

An Auckland City Council official said the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on New North Road, did not have a compliance certificate because of several problems, including a leaky roof and a toilet that did not meet rules covering accessibility for disabled people.

The $6 million centre opened in 2001 on 1ha formerly occupied by Findlay's Bakery, which the association bought for $1.9 million in 1990.

The city council's manager for building inspections, Tim Weight, said the association had been issued with several notices to fix faults, but none affected the structure or safety of the building.

Association board member Mukund Bikha said problems were being dealt with, and a final inspection date had been booked with the council.

He said the association had no plans to build a Taj Mahal replica, but rather a $20 million cultural centre reflecting India's culture and history.

Centres chairman Kanu Patel had used the Taj Mahal only to describe the grand scale of the new centre.