Gurgaon News

There were reports of severe waterlogging on the MG Road, Golf Course Road, and the Golf Souk Road among others, while the crumbling Old Delhi-Gurgaon road yielded to the constant rain and led to stagnant traffic.

Sameer Kochar, a resident of Shushant Lok, A-block, said he was shocked to see water gushing into his house on Saturday morning. "The road outside had been waterlogged for the past two days, but today the water started pouring into my house,'' he said. He, like his other neighbours, was left with no choice but to switch off the power mains and stay put. "We had to cut the power because some of my power points are placed very near to the floor. There was no water, nothing to eat, and we couldn't even get out of the house. It felt like we were stranded. And there was no help,'' said Yogesh Sharma, an IT professional and Kochar's neighbour.

Kochar added that this was the first time these houses got flooded ever since he moved to this area six years ago. "The MG road has been raised by six inches recently, and both sides of the road remain dug up with no drainage systems. The water collects on the sides, and if it rains for long, it gets into the houses,'' he said.

Similar cases were reported in DLF Phase I and V. R S Rathee of the Gurgaon Citizens' Council in Phase I said the Ashoka Crescent Road, which lies adjacent to the frontages of about forty houses, had been submerged under knee-deep water for the past two days and no action was taken. "On the third day, the basements of these houses got filled with up to 9-foot deep water. Now, the water has flooded the ground floors as well,'' said Rathee. The residents complained that although they moved to privately managed colonies, like the DLF and Shushant Lok, for better facilities, they have realized that the state of affairs here is much worse. "We pay massive amounts of external development charges to these so-called facility management companies, but we never see any results,'' said Rakesh Kumar Yadav, a lawyer and resident of DLF Phase I.

Source: Times Of India By Vineet Gill Gurgaon struggles to stay afloat

The promoters -- Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL), a joint venture between ITNL Enso Rail Systems (IERS) and DLF Metro -- had achieved financial closure for the Rs. 1,088 crore project on June 5.

The project is expected to be ready by January 2013.

According to RMGL officials, the transfer of land from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and private developer DLF has almost been completed, paving the way for civil work, to be done by Maytas Infrastructure.

The 6.1-km-long elevated track, on the standard gauge track, would begin near DMRC's Sikanderpur Metro station.

From this point, the RMG would pass through DLF City-II and touch Belvedere Park and Towers, DLF Cybercity, National Media Centre and Ambience Lagoon apartments, before turning towards DLF SEZ in DLF City III.

Other locations en route are Hotel Leela Kempinski, Ambience Mall, Hotel Trident Hilton and the border toll plaza on the Gurgaon expressway.    

Besides features such as the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system (that does not necessarily require manual control of the train) and third-rail system (allowing train to draw power from below tracks), the aesthetics of the service include stations, which would be on the lines of the Dubai Metro.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) said the owner would have to shell out Rs.8,000 in penalty for securing the release of his straying cattle head from the pen. The fine earlier was Rs.1,500.

A special campaign was launched Friday till Aug 31 to catch stray cattle in the city.

'As per the plan, no stray cattle would be seen wandering in the city by Jan 1 next year. The MCG has constructed a 'Gaushala' (cattle pen) in a nearby village Kartarpuri. It has been built on five acres of land at a cost of about Rs.1 crore,' said Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Khullar.

The MCG has impounded 980 stray cattle head found roaming the town streets since Mar 3 this year.

To encourage the MCG staff to impound more stray cattle, the authorities have raised the incentive money to Rs.15 per cattle head caught.

Khullar said the job of catching stray pigs has been given to the NGO 'People For Animals'. He said that pigs once caught would not be released in any case.

The guest houses are going to increase pressure on the already fragile infrastructure of the city where shortage of power and water are perennial problems, they complain.

Though city administration says it is illegal to set up guest houses in residential areas it is turning a blind eye to those which have come up right under its nose. At a rough count of 1500, DLF and Sushant Lok have got the maximum number of guest houses. How could so many guest houses be allowed to come up in such posh areas of the city is a question that only concerned authorities can answer. But residents say that their only problem is not that not only are the  guest houses milching the existing resources but also  encouraging commercial activities in residential areas.

RWAs express helplessness in the matter saying that that the problem has to be solved by the administration. The group of residents of DLF had filed an RTI to know about the present situation of guest houses and as per the list there are more than 500 houses where guest houses are being run currently. The reply of District Town Planner to the RTI reads, "Necessary show cause notice and restoration orders as per the provisions of Act 41 of 1963 have been issued against the defaulters and further necessary action shall be taken during the demolition drive undertaken in that area. No demolition has been taken place in the licensed colony namely DLF I, II, III, IV, V after recent identification of residential premises where commercial activities are being done. Action would be taken in the near future against the defaulters."

Source: Jagrancityplus.com By Bhawna Gandhi Guest houses not welcome in colonies, say residents

Organised by Haryana Tourism Mart and Real Estate Developers Council of Haryana, in association with Haryana Tourism, the Gurgaon Shopping Festival promises to unveil the best shopping deals of 'Brand Gurgaon' from a wide range of national and international brands.

The over-a-month-long shopping carnival will also showcase handicrafts, cuisines and the rich cultural heritage of India.

"The conventional meters in our homes were replaced by the electronic meters in 2006-2007. For some strange reason, DHBVN decided to install them outside the houses. These meters easily catch fire due to water contact, voltage fluctuation, overload, etc. This monsoon the condition has really been bad as almost every day we hear of 2 to 3 meters catching fire and exploding. It is really scary,'' said Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, a resident of the posh sector 23.

Tripathy's neighbour Surinder Gandotra had a first-hand account to narrate. "Last night we saw sparking from our window which lit up the area.It sounded like loud thunder, at first we thought it would rain heavily. But when our lights started fluctuating, we knew something was terribly wrong. It was about 9.30pm and we were having dinner then. We ran out of our homes to see thick white smoke billowing out from an electricity meter hanging outside on the streetlight pole. We got scared and immediately called DHBVN customer care,'' he said.

"The bright sparking and explosion was so loud that the 6mm-thick glass window on the meter box had broken into hundreds of small pieces. Blackened shards of glass lay spread on the ground. As we got no response from DHBVN, we, helped by a few neighbours, poured sand on the burning meter,'' his wife added.

Source: Times Of India By Sumi Sukanya Fire-prone meters add to Gurgaon residents' power-related woes

By August end, the Millennium City would be garbage free, claims Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon. The city will have an effective door to door garbage collection mechanism, in addition to a fully functional solid waste treatment plant by the end of this month. Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Khullar said the job of picking garbage from each home has been outsourced to a professional garbage disposal company.

"This door to door collection of garbage has already been in practice for the past four months as a pilot project in village Sarhaul, Civil Lines and Rajiv Colony. Altogether, there are eight tippers and one compacter deployed in these areas," said Rajesh Kurup, project incharge at the disposal company Anthony Waste.

"One tipper has a capacity of a tonne and can cover up to 300 households at a time," Kurup said.

The garbage is collected twice a day, depending on the load in a small vehicle called Tipper. This can carry up to 850 kg garbage at a time. This tipper then transfers the garbage into a Compacter, which has a capacity of 12 tonnes, and goes directly to village Badhwari. According to the municipal commissioner, the treatment plant at Badhwari will be operational by July 25.

"The whole process is done by these ultra modern machines making the whole process swift. We can't see a speck of garbage in these areas," said Commissioner Khullar said. "This task, by the MCG, will show its efficiency which till now neither the HUDA nor the private developers could do."

Now, Anthony Waste is in process of sending these tippers to the cover the whole of Gurgaon before the Commonwealth Games.

Khullar said that while London's municipality collects garbage twice a week, "we are going to give this facility to all Gurgaon residents twice a day".

The rise of Gurgaon as a "millennium city" from a small town of Haryana, once referred to as the state's backwater, is a typical rags-to-riches story. Though, of course, not with a happy ending, as it has turned into a tale of woes for its residents.

A view of the metro in Gurgaon

Hyped as a model city of modern India, Gurgaon houses offices of more than 200 Fortune-500 companies and contributes a major chunk of revenue to the state's exchequer.

Maruti played a crucial role in Gurgaon's turnaround to its present form. A large number of MNCs followed, setting up their offices and other facilities in the city, fuelling its progress.

Proximity to the National Capital as well as an international airport were the other major contributing factors for the transformation of this once-backward town into a metropolitan city boasting of swanky malls, posh offices, trendy commercial complexes and a lot more.

However, along with the phenomenal progress came its side-effects. Thanks to lack of vision, poor planning, gross mismanagement and the lackadaisical attitude of the leaders as well as administrators, the city of dreams has turned into an urban nightmare.

The "millennium city" has become a victim of haphazard development. Facing an excessive population pressure and over-exploitation of natural resources, it is experiencing a depleting water table and other reserves.

With the city's growth came "vices" like corrupt government functionaries, toll-tax extortionists, unscrupulous colonisers and parking mafia, who vied with each other to milk the juicy city.

As a result, the condition of more than two million residents of the city is no better than that of any sleepy far-flung town, lacking infrastructure and development.

Lest one is awestruck by the glitter of its chic malls, high-rise office towers or trendy marketplaces, it should be noted that the people here have to bear long and unannounced power cuts, shortage of water, nagging traffic jams, parking blues, pitiable infrastructure, bad roads, improper garbage disposal, malfunctioning public offices and unresponsive government officials.

In fact, a first-time visitor is shocked on arrival at the bus-stand, which presents a picture of poor hygiene, neglect and mismanagement. A visit to the mini-secretariat reveals non-functional lifts, stinking toilets and grossly inadequate facilities. The situation is no better at the local tehsil office, court complex or civil hospital.

Source: The Tribune By Sunit Dhawan Due To Lack Of Vision, Poor Planning, The City Of Dreams Turned Into An Urban Nightmare

• MCG -- Money Collector of Gurgaon

• Tale of two cities

The master plan is expected to be ready by this year end. So far, 50% of the mapping work has already been completed and 41 places have been identified where pits could be constructed. An official of MCG said that work on eight such spots have already started. These places include Sikander Pur Chowk, Biodiversity Park, Sukhrali Lake and areas where offices of the deputy commissioner and the municipal corporation are located.

Coordinator of the project, Prof Gauhar Mahmood of the civil engineering department, Jamia Millia Islamia, said that under the rainwater harvesting master plan, every inch of land be it industrial area, park, residential area or biodiversity park is being measured to see if there are prospects for setting up such projects.

The plan will also provide technical inputs on various aspects related to water harvesting like water quality, type of construction to be done based on quantity of rainfall and size of pits.

Though such projects will be mainly taken up in areas under public domain, each and every sector and various societies are also covered under this project. Many housing societies have already started rainwater harvesting projects. DLF City has around 17 recharge pits in their premises.

Once the plan is ready, the next step will be to construct the recharge pits, informed R K Khullar, MCG commissioner.

Source: Times Of India By Aditya Dev Gurgaon draws master plan for rainwater harvesting

"The temperature went to 44 degrees Celsius in June and now with the onset of monsoon, the commuters are left on the mercy of weather and the city administration has closed its eyes. Almost 75 per cent of the population depends on the public transport but the administration has failed to provide us even one shelter where we can stand and prevent ourselves form the sun and rain. One can see people often carrying umbrella and caps and even some people are forced to take shelter under the trees and other construction sites," said Ramesh Verma, a daily commuter at IFFCO Chowk.

On the other hand, the city administration still does not have any time-frame to provide any shelter to passengers. "We are working on it and a four-member committee has been set up to address the issue. The Gurgaon commuters will soon get the shelters," said Yashendra Singh, General Manager of Haryana Roadways, Gurgaon.

However in 2008, the State transport department said that HUDA has to construct bus shelters and it had already floated the tenders and these shelters would be maintained by HUDA on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. However Singh refused to commit on this issue and said, "I can't comment about past developments. I can only address the present situation on this matter."

Source: The Pioneer By Sunil Thapliyal Bus shelters still a dream in Gurgaon

The rain which started around 3am and continued for over five hours had a cascading effect on the power supply. The strong winds that accompanied the rain uprooted several trees, which fell on overhead lines leading to long power cuts.

Sidharth Mishra, a resident of DLF III, said, ``The situation completely exposed the lack of preparedness on the part of the civic authorities to handle such weather. Our area was completely submerged in water about ankle-deep. Whatever happened was unavoidable and expected since many stretches in DLF, specially near Belvedere Park, have been dug up causing a lot of water to get accumulated there.''

The lower basement of Medanta Medicity hospital got flooded and the Gurgaon fire department staff was called in to flush out the water. Mishra added, ``If this was not enough misery, we had to face power cut from 1pm till 5pm. Calling the discom helpline was not of much help either.''

Even as Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) officials admitted that the power situation on Sunday was quite bad, they blamed the rain for the outages. ``According to the information I have, there was a record rainfall of 110mm which led to a lot of disturbance in supply, specially in the morning. Trees in several areas got uprooted and fell on the electricity lines, the wires snapped leading to disruption in the power supply. Even the conductors and insulators got punctured and throughout the day we were engaged in changing the faulty cables,'' said SS Yadav, chief engineer, DHBVN, NCR zone.

While the situation in the newer part of the city was relatively better, the old city had to grapple with much worse. There were incidents of cave-ins at Old Basai Road and places near the railway station and bus terminal.

The district administration has set up a committee to prepare a Master Plan to regulate activities within a five km radius of the park periphery, following a notification by the Union environment ministry.

"The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) had issued a notification in January this year, asking the Haryana government to regulate activities to a five-km radius of the periphery of the Sultanpur National Park to check any development that could harm the ecology and green cover of the park," Gurgaon deputy commissioner R.K. Kataria.

"We have set up a committee to define activities in this notified zone around the park," he added.

Spread over 352 acres of land, the park is located about 50 km from Delhi and 15 km from Gurgaon on the Gurgaon Farukhnagar Road.

The park has been known as the favourite destination for hundreds of migratory birds.

sanjeev.ahuja@hindustantimes.com

Source: Hindustan Times By Sanjeev K Ahuja No Construction Within Five-Km Of Sultanpur Lake

The authorities, however, maintained that there would be no further extension of time for obtaining the completion certificates. The decision was taken after a meeting with developers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Gurgaon civic agency has also released a list of defaulters on Wednesday. Water supply and sewer connections of about 1,105 house owners who moved into their houses in licenced residential colonies without taking the mandatory occupation certificate from the town and country planning department will be disconnected, sources said.

HUDA administrator Nitin Yadav said that as per the terms and conditions of the licence, approval of building plans is required to be obtained before undertaking construction. An occupation certificate also has to be obtained before anyone can move into the completed buildings.

"It has come to the knowledge of the circle office that in cases where permission for occupation was refused, the owners have occupied the buildings without obtaining the occupation certificate. As per the record, 1,295 such cases have been noticed, and the developers, in violation of the terms and conditions of the licences, have given regular water supply and sewer connections to them. The developers concerned have also been given a list of defaulters and have been directed to disconnect water supply and sewer services immediately," said Yadav.

Source: Times Of India By Sumi Sukanya Gurgaon: 2 weeks to get completion certificates now

A decision to this effect was taken by the Haryana Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary (Revenue), Naresh Gulati, during a meeting held here yesterday.

The meeting was attended by Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner TK Sharma and DCs of all districts under Gurgaon division, Gurgaon DC Rajender Kataria, Faridabad DC Parveen Kumar, Nuh (Mewat) DC CR Rana, Rewari DC A. Shreeniwas, Palwal DC Amit Aggarwal and Mahendergarh DC Vikas Gupta.

Gulati directed the officials concerned to get the decision of opening more counters in tehsil offices implemented immediately at least in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts. He asserted that the registered deed had to be delivered to the purchaser on the same day after affixing seal and signatures of the sub-registrar.

For facilitating the people, more than one counter should be opened in tehsil offices, where a totally dedicated sub-registrar for registering the sale deeds should be deputed.

"The services of naib tehsildars (NT) posted as NT (Li-Mi), NT surplus and NT accounts can be utilised in addition to the regular naib tehsildars for discharging the job of sub-registrar," he said, adding that these sub-registrars would sit at their counters simultaneously and separate days or weeks would not be fixed for them. The meeting observed that the amount paid under the table for getting the sale-deed registered was bringing a bad name to the government, as the general impression was that the share reaches to the top level. "This step would also give some relief to the tehsildars, who are already overburdened in the revenue cases and working as duty magistrates," the meeting noted.

While the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) claims the city has approximately 110 km of sewer lines for a population of over 11 lakh within the corporation limits, the truth is that most of this is in patches and hence of not much use to many of the 58 sectors. The 130 million litres of sewage generated by the city everyday is sent to the two sewage treatment plants in Dhanwapur. The third plant at Behrampur is not yet fully operational because of litigation.

As of now, the new colonies on Golf Course Road and Sohna Road are yet to be connected to the main sewer line. For instance, DLF Phase I's A block extension, DLF Phase V, Sun City, Sushant Lok II & III, Ardee City, Nirvana City, Rose City, Vatika City and Uppal South End still collect their sewage in septic tanks to be taken away by tankers daily. Stagnant sewage accumulated on the green belt has spilt over on to Sohna Road between the HUDA City Centre Metro Station on Subhash Chandra Road.

Source: The Indian Express By TANUSHREE ROY CHOWDHURY Come September, Gurgaon will have a sewage system that works

As a part of this exercise, people carrying plastic bags of less than 40 mm and less than 12 by 18 inch will be challaned. Any person caught with a plastic bag will be asked to pay a challan for Rs 500. Shopkeepers giving plastic bags will be imposed a fine of Rs 2,500-5,000.

Nigam officials have been deployed in most popular markets like Sector 14, Galleria etc. They will also be   deployed in fruit and vegetable markets of Gurgaon because these are areas with maximum sale of plastic bags. Municipal Commissioner RK Khullar says, "Regulations have been imposed in the municipal limits and even in the vicinity of popular Sheetla Mata Mandir plastic bags will not be allowed.  Help would be sought from social groups, commercial establishments, self-help groups, RWAs etc to make this programme successful".

As per rules plastic bags of thinner than 40 microns and lesser than 12x18 inches are not allowed within municipal limits. The drive would start this week and people seen throwing plastic waste in the open will also be penalised.

रैपिड मेट्रो रेल गुड़गांव के रूट निरीक्षण के दौरान कई जगहों पर अतिक्रमण पाया गया था जो मेट्रो रूट में एक बाधा बना हुआ था। अब हुडा और जिला प्रशासन द्वारा अतिक्रमण हटाने का कार्य शुरू कर दिया गया है। मेट्रो रेल लिंक से जुड़े निजी कंपनियों के अधिकारियों का कहना है कि वे मेट्रो निर्माण का कार्य जल्द से जल्द शुरू करना चाहते हैं और अतिक्रमण हटते ही निर्माण कार्य शुरू करने की प्रक्रिया शुरू कर दी जाएगी।

निजी कंपनी की ओर से संचालित होने वाली इस मेट्रो के निर्माण पर 1,088 करोड रुपये की राशि खर्च की जाएगी। यह परियोजना दिल्ली-गुड़गांव मेट्रो लाइन को सिकंदरपुर स्टेशन से नेशनल हाईवे नंबर 8 को जोड़ेगी। दिल्ली-गुडगांव मेट्रो और रेल लिंक लाइन के बीच 9 मीटर चौड़ा और 90 मीटर लंबा एक पुल बनाया जाएगा।

यात्रियों की सुविधा के लिए दिल्ली गुडगांव मेट्रो और मेट्रो रेल लिंक दोनों से यात्रा करने वाले यात्रियों के लिए एक ही स्थान पर टिकट सुविधा उपलब्ध करवाई जाएगी। गुडगांव के उपायुक्त राजेन्द्र कटारिया के साथ हुई मेट्रो लिंक रूट के अधिकारियों की बैठक में कंपनी के अधिकारियों ने उपायुक्त को बताया कि मेट्रो रूट के रास्ते में बाधा बने अतिक्रमण को हटाने का कार्य किया जा रहा है।

अतिक्रमण हटाने के साथ साथ ही कंपनी उस क्षेत्र की फेसिंग करवा रही है ताकि वहां पर दोबारा अतिक्रमण न हो सके और मेट्रो रेल लिंक का निर्माण कार्य जल्द से जल्द शुरू किया जा सके । लगभग 6 किलोमीटर लंबे इस मेट्रो रेल लिंक में 6 स्टेशन - सिकंदरपुर, डीएलएफ फेस-2, बलवेडेयर टावर, डीएलएफ फेस-3, गेटवे टावर और माल आफ इंडिया बनाये जाएंगे। यह परियोजना 2012 के मध्य तक चालू करने का लक्ष्य रखा गया है।

The payments had been made to the contractor responsible for maintenance of the park.

On paper, payments for the maintenance of the park have been cleared regularlytothecon- tractor concerned since 2006.But those who visit the park say the difference is not visible.They have also raised the issue of dysfunctional musical foun- tains in the park.

"On paper, the HUDA civil engineering department has shown these fountains to be func- tional and payments have been cleared for the same. But when we raised queries in this regard we were shocked to know that these fountains were not functioning as some parts had gone missing since 2006," said Aseem Takyar, an activist.

The civil engineering depart- mentisresponsibleforcivilworks in the park while the horticul- ture department is responsible for the maintenance.

dhananjay.jha@hindustantimes.com

Source: Hindustan Times By Dhananjay Jha No upgradation despite funds

उल्लेखनीय है कि शहर में वाहनों की समस्या लगातार बढ़ती जा रही है। इसके बावजूद नगर निगम, हुडा व प्रशासन की ओर से पार्किंग स्थल बनाने की योजनाओं को सिरे चढ़ाने में गंभीरता से ध्यान नहीं दिया जा रहा है। परिणामस्वरूप जगह-जगह पार्किंग बनाकर माफिया चांदी कूट रहे हैं। पालम विहार, सेक्टर-14, एमजी रोड, सुशांत लोक, साउथ सिटी, सहित कई इलाकों में 25 से अधिक अनधिकृत पार्किंग स्थल बनाकर वाहन चालकों से धन वसूला जा रहा है। नगर निगम, हुडा तथा पुलिस के कुछ अधिकारी भी पार्किंग के गोरखधंधे से जुड़े बताए जाते हैं। जिस व्यावसायिक इमारत के पास भी वाहनों का रेला लगने लगता है, वहीं पर खाली स्थान पर पेड पार्किंग बना दी जाती है। पुलिस भी अनधिकृत पार्किंग संचालकों के पक्ष में रहती है। यह गोरखधंधा इस कदर चल रहा है कि कई बिल्डर भी मौके का फायदा उठा रहे हैं। उन्होंने अपनी इमारत की पार्किंग के बाहर कमीशन लेकर पार्किंग लगवा रखी है। ऐसी पार्किंग में वाहन सुरक्षा की कोई गारंटी भी नहीं होती है। यह फंडा काफी दिनों से चल रहा है। अब पुलिस आयुक्त एसएस देसवाल ने सुरक्षा के दृष्टिकोण से गोरखधंधे पर नकेल कसने के लिए सभी डीसीपी को निर्देश दिए हैं।
पुलिस सूत्रों का कहना है कि राष्ट्रमंडल खेलों के मौके पर कई वीआईपी व विदेशी खिलाड़ी निश्चित तौर पर मॉल व होटल आएंगे। ऐसे में अनधिकृत पार्किंग में खड़े वाहन सुरक्षा के लिहाज से घातक हो सकते हैं। पुलिस आयुक्त का कहना है कि लोगों को थोड़ी सी दिक्कत तो होगी पर अनधिकृत रूप से चल रही पार्किंग किसी भी सूरत में चलने नहीं दी जाएंगी। उन्होंने कहा कि अनधिकृत पार्किंग से सरकार को राजस्व की हानि होती है साथ ही सुरक्षा को भी खतरा रहता है। कई बार सामने आया कि बदमाश अपराध कर वाहन को पार्किंग में खड़ा कर जाते हैं। पार्किंग संचालक के पास वाहन चेकिंग की कोई व्यवस्था नहीं होती है। पुलिस आयुक्त ने बताया कि बिल्डर पर भी इमारत के अंदर ही वाहन पार्क कराने का दबाव दिया जा रहा है