Huda sectors show why MCG taking over maintenance isn’t the magic pill

GURUGRAM: For voters in ward 3, spanning sectors 22, 22B and 23, Palam Vihar-1, and Mullahera and Chauma Khera villages, vexing issues are more or less similar to residents of other areas — broken roads, water scarcity and power woes.

Residents say their repeated requests to civic authorities have only fallen on deaf ears and hope the new councillor can get their pothole-ridden roads repaired and power infra upgraded.

"There is a pothole right in front of my house. Every time I have a complaint, I go and write it in the RWA register, and if I'm lucky, someone will come after a week. Hope things will change after the MCG polls," says a resident of Sector 22.

The adjacent Sector 23 has its own problems. Several stretches of the sector road have not been constructed and are pothole-ridden, and the area has no proper waste disposal system.

"When we started living here around 10 years back, the area was under Huda. After complaints, the authorities would come and try to solve our problems. However after the MCG took over, the councillor only visits during election time," says another resident. Huda sectors have been handed over to MCG but not privately developed areas like Palam Vihar.

As the election approaches, there is disillusionment among residents. The councillors are there only notionally and don't do any work, according to most people in the area. "We have lost faith in the system. The councillors here only recover the money they have spent during the elections and don't have much power," says an elderly resident of Sector 23, who did not wish to be named.

Prema Singh, another local resident, said, "There is no waste disposal system in the area. Most progressive residential colonies have moved towards segregation of waste, and despite efforts to mobilise people, nothing has happened in the area. Councillors are supposed to come forward and mobilise people in such initiatives."

Palam Vihar-1 has a similar problem, that is broken roads. "The roads in the area are ridden with potholes and driving is very painful. This also makes the traffic situation in the area worse," said Neeraj Singh Khati, a local resident.

In Mullahera village, an adjoining area, residents say while the roads were rebuilt by the councillor, the area faces a severe problem of water and electricity.

"There has been no water since morning in the area. When power goes it doesn't come back for 10-12 hours and without any information as to when it will come back," said Ranu Francis, a resident.

The incumbent ward councillor is Ravinder Yadav, who is contesting on a BJP ticket again. INLD's candidate is Jaswant. The ward, which consists of two prominent villages, will also be represented in the elections by four independent candidates — Ajay Yadav, Tripti Aggarwal, Sachin Rana and Harsh Jain.

However, when conacted, Ravinder told TOI, "I have ensured roads have been made barring a few stretches, which have been delayed because of the monsoon and will be made soon after the rains. These sectors have been recently transferred to MCG and water issues will soon be resolved."