Citizens' Manifesto

  • Abhishek Behl / FG
  • India
  • Mar 28, 2014

 

 

 

Despite being the financial capital of Haryana and a city that sometimes feels like a Metro, it has been the misfortune of Gurgaon that it does not fall on the political map of the State. Gurgaon is neither geographically nor numerically important for the entrenched political parties, and this is why the City has suffered in terms of civic infrastructure and services. As a result, lakhs of its residents still live a poor quality of life, despite the ‘Millennium City’ tag. The roads are in a bad shape, the sewage system is inadequate, streetlights cannot be found even in ‘posh’ colonies, water supply is scarce and power is always on load shedding mode. The buoyancy from the Real Estate and BPO/IT sectors is also missing today. The City is suffering the pangs of a slowdown. It’s time to act. 

 

To send a message to the politicians, and make them aware of what Gurgaonites really want, and think should be done, we spoke to a cross-section of residents in ‘old’ and ‘new ‘Gurgaon. The result is a Citizens' Manifesto, which lays emphasis on building a better and more inclusive City. Some key elements are:

Roads and Transport: Gurgaon has adequate roads but these are mostly in bad shape. The people also want more flyovers and underpasses, especially to connect ‘new’ and ‘old’ Gurgaon as well as the new Sectors spread all across. There is a demand for the extension of Delhi Metro to ‘old’ Gurgaon, safe and comfortable public transport, modern bus depots and bus stands, improved rickshaw service for better last mile connectivity and better feeder service to/from the Metro stations. The residents also want better connectivity with Manesar and resolution of traffic issues at the major bottlenecks.  The Bus service should be more regular, shared autos should be slowly removed and the fare of autos should be fixed. The Railway Station should be modernised, the Gurgaon-Jaipur Highway should be completed fast, there should be better signage on all the roads and streets and multi-level parking areas should be constructed in both ‘old’ and ‘new’ Gurgaon. 

Water and Power: Many residents want Rain Water Harvesting to be made mandatory. Gurgaonites want the government and builders to develop adequate power infrastructure, stop power theft and make people aware about the right usage of electricity (to reduce waste). Many builders have not installed adequate power infrastructure (sub-stations), despite getting the IDC charges from the buyers.

Real Estate: Residents want the monopoly of builders to be checked through a regulatory body - DTCP and HUDA should have a negligible role in this area. Action should be taken against wrong practices and builders should follow the rulebook for ensuring good maintenance. The control of common areas in condominiums should be with the residents, not the builders. Property dealers who are not registered should be banned.

Police and Security: Gurgaon should have an empowered police, with adequate powers given to the Police Commissioner. The number of policemen in the City should be increased, particularly the women police. There is a need to see more police cars and bikes patrolling the City, to make people feel safer and more secure. The Traffic Police should have better equipment, and the Control Room should monitor the roads on a live basis – through CCTVs (like Chandigarh).

Women’s Safety: This a major issue and troubles the entire City - whether in the ‘posh’ malls of the ‘new’ City or markets in the ‘old’ City. People want more women squads and PCR vans, and immediate and strict action against those who indulge in eve teasing and harassment of women. There is also a strong demand to stop the sprouting of liquor vends and to ensure that people do not drink in the open around them.

Regularisation of colonies: There are about 85 unauthorised colonies and residents want these brought under some ‘plan’. The colonies in the 900 meters area around the Ammunition Depot should be provided civic facilities. 

Saving the Environment: The residents want the parks in the City, particularly the Bio-diversity Park, to be developed. There should be a ban on any development in the Aravallis, ground water should be used wisely, and there should be a ban on its usage in construction projects. There should be a check on the use of generators and solar power should be promoted in the City.

Other Demands: Setting up of a nodal Gurgaon Development Authority, development of a cultural centre, renovation of Sheetla Mata temple, setting up of a University and Medical college, putting up an online system for reporting grievances, checking the mushrooming private schools and the high fees, ensuring housing for EWS, better medical facilities in the Civil Hospital, more night shelters for the poor especially during the winters, and ‘renovation’ of the Sadar Bazaar area. 



Vox Populi (from the Residents’ mouths)

A Gurgaon resident who calls herself a feminist and human rights activist, and who is disgruntled with the state of the City.The City should have better lit streets, roads, nooks and crannies. Gurgaon needs to be ‘walking friendly’. There needs to be stricter enforcement of traffic rules, so that we don't drive as if the streets are privately owned. There should be better treatment and regularisation of autos and rickshawalas – with minimum wages and a better quality of work environment. The City should respect the rights of domestic workers. Big malls should not come up near residential areas. I would like to see a feature on all the candidates standing from Gurgaon and their views. 

 

 

Indu Gulati
Crime control and traffic management

 

Seema Jain Krishnan
Local public transport and strict regulation on the selling of liquor, tobacco and drugs.

Gaurav Gupta
Women’s safety, government sports complexes

Kiran Chaturvedi
Better sanitation and water
management.

Ashu Purii Talwaar
Roads and lights, power, signage on dug sites, better car drivers, lots of lady police. Of course, jobs. Safety, above all.

Juni Kohli
Better traffic system (specially at the peak office hours), separate lane for buses, and more music, art & cultural schools (we must celebrate all our festivals and rituals vividly). 

Vikash Tyagi
Roads, police-public relations, strong traffic rules for commercial autos, school fees to be rationalised.

Manu Manu D
Security and infrastructure.

Archana Kapoor Nagpal
Workshops and action on safety of women, handling of children, cultural events around literature.

Sonia Bajaj
Promotion of health and making people aware of the importance of fitness.

Ikraam Aulakh
Improving the increasingly important Golf Course Extension Road. Better policing at night.

Ram N Kumar
Punishing people who don't follow rules or do not exhibit any civic sense. Public transport should be given an extra budget. Autos should have meters.

Aarushi Verma
Safety for woman and well-lit roads with clearly marked directions. Proper fares for autowallahs. Public transport is a nightmare.

Davinder Sachdeva
CCTV cameras on roads. Proper auto rickshaw stands - so that they don't block roads.

Deeba Rajpal
Safety, better roads across the City, Rapid Metro in ‘old’ Gurgaon, push for organic agriculture, better management of local produce. The idea of a ‘food truck’, to collect left over food from restaurants, to share with the underprivileged.

Archana Kadel
Child labour should be prohibited and actions must be taken for girls’ security.

Manas Arvind
Stop indiscriminate conversion of farm and forest land for construction, crackdown on power theft, provide guaranteed power to all, strong public grievance cell against civic bodies/police/private body affecting life at large (example - builders encroaching the proposed parks and schools and making towers instead), cycling tracks. Better planning.

Arnie K Kohli
Law and order, water supply and public transport need to be resolved.

Apurva Sharma
There is a laundry list, but apart from safety I would suggest world-class infrastructure - better and beautified roads, more connecting roads and widening of roads. Water and sewage are also important issues.

Garvita Chaturvedi
Cleanliness & safety for women, waste management, remove litter from roadsides. lady Police presence in unsafe areas for women, awareness via newspapers.

Anuj Gupta
Infrastructure and security, roads, sewage, water and electricity, good policing.

Suman Dash
Security for women, better roads, removal of the liquor shops from residential areas, better transportation facilities, better drainage during the rains, making Rain Water Harvesting mandatory, sewage, making the City disabled-friendly, developing sports centres, we should be able travel even at 2am without fear, and empowering cleaners, sweepers, autorickshaw-wallahs, rickshaw-wallahs and of course the police... If they are happy they will keep us happy.

Bhuvaneshwari Joshi
Commuting to be made easy within the City.

Aakash Gogia
Not really do I carry a pile full of complaints, but the handful of amendments would be: with the city developing and getting modernized, I want proper assignment of policemen at every sector/phase; the police patrolling really helps in keeping things under control. I would want the roads to be properly constructed - the roads in Sushant Lok, near South City- 2, and inside South City 1, really need to be targeted.

Ashma Khanna Sachdeva
Promote Ayurveda treatments and reimbursement for the same should be allowed.

Haribhushan Mishra
Transport, law and order

Ishan Grover
Water supply and electricity.

Bhushan Arora
I want proper electricity, traffic solutions, neat & clean roads and a better drainage system. It is not a well-planned city like Chandigarh.

Faraz Khan
Better roads to begin with, a better-managed municipality, and an amphitheatre. We would want more security around the ‘thekas’. The pubs problem in Sahara Mall is an issue that the government is closing its eye on. Better public transport. We miss something like an Indian Habitat Centre.

Alka Gurha
Accountability and transparency from Huda and MCG. Power, water and sanitation are in a shambles. And we need to break the builder-politician nexus.

Anil Kumar Kherwal
I want GDA (Gurgaon Development Authority) & employment of youth in local industry. Many problems are there - such as Hero Honda flyover, sewage ,waterlogging, Metro connectivity to IMT Manesar.

Ila Prakash Singh
Public transport, local taxis (like Cool Cabs), and reasonable, pothole-free roads,

Archana Sharma
Better roads and uninterrupted power supply.

Anurag Lall
Electricity infrastructure, and dual charges (by the MCG and private colonisers) should end.

Read More...


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