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Sumedha Sharma
Various big promises were made during the recent Lok Sabha elections raising the hopes of rapid development in Gurugram in the next five years. The city is looking forward to the resolution of various long-pending civic issues and completion or at least initiation of various projects hanging fire for the last five years. Various projects that have been repeatedly mentioned in the manifestos during successive elections or in the to-do lists of the Municipal Corporation and the GMDA are eagerly awaited to make Gurugram a millennial city in the true sense. These include strengthening of public transport, resolution of water and power shortage, checking pollution, restoration of lost green spaces, regulating unauthorised constructions, better waste management, and revival of lost social infrastructure for an improved quality of life.
Metro expansion
It is a decade-old demand and the project seems to have finally got on track. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who chaired the recent GMDA meeting, has given the nod to the Rs 6,000-crore plan for Metro extension in Gurugram. At present, the Delhi Metro service ends at the Huda City Centre. Besides, Gurugram has a Rapid Metro service that connects the National Highway No. 8 to Delhi Metro via Cyber City and the Golf Course Road.
The expansion plan has been mooted to bring Old Gurgaon and industrial areas on the Metro map of Gurugram. The state government has approved a budget of Rs 6,000 crore and fixed 2024 as the deadline for the commissioning of the project.
Better drainage
After facing severe flash floods, Gurugram wanted a revamped drainage system. Just a month before the arrival of the monsoons, the city has got approval for a comprehensive drainage plan. The Chief Minister had approved the plan at the GMDA meeting recently. It will include reviving and creating rainwater harvesting structures and traditional village ponds, recharging wells and check dams, and construction of new drainage infrastructure along the southern peripheral road. The plan with a budget of Rs 289 crore will be implemented over the next four years.
The plan divides the city’s principal drainage channels into four categories, and identifies the Badshahpur drain as the most critical. Based on its topography, the GMDA has divided the city into four zones — non-urbanised areas along the Gurugram-Faridabad road up to Ghata village; areas east of Gwal Pahari in the foothills of Aravalli hills; areas between Ghata and the Sohna road (beyond Sectors 58 to 67); and areas between the Sohna road and the National Highway No. 48.
Meanwhile, along the southern peripheral road, the GMDA has proposed a 2.5-km open drain, and another 3-km box drain to channel run-off water. The project is set to be implemented in four phases. A detailed project report is being prepared for every phase, which will be vetted by specialists from the IIT, Roorkee.
24x7 power supply
Uninterrupted 24x7 electricity supply promised by Union Power Minister Piyush Goel three years ago had heightened hopes in the millennium city. However, it took the project three years to start and is yet to show any major progress. Many areas of the city are still reeling under power outages for hours. The project, estimated to cost Rs 1,300 crore, was long overdue. When the new grid is completed, the city’s dependence on high-capacity generator sets is expected to reduce substantially.
To begin with, all overhead electricity lines will be shifted underground. The shifting of power lines underground will be done using a method called trenchless boring where machines insert 600 mm cables encased in a protective polyvinyl pipe into the ground.
When the lines are laid, the areas where the work is completed will start receiving power supply through the new network. The initial deadline of the project was June 2019, which has been extended to June 2020. It will be then that HUDA Sectors 1 to 57 will start getting 24X7 power supply.
Art and cultural centre
Termed as the missing backbone of Gurugram's social infrastructure, an art and cultural complex is the top priority of the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) that has set aside Rs 170 crore for it. The art and cultural centre will be the city's own Indian Habitat Centre. The project was proposed in 2015 but was deferred for three good years before being revived now.
In 2015, the MCG had proposed a state-of-the-art centre to be built at a cost of Rs 170 crore in Sector 53 but it has been pending since then. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda), now Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), had earmarked around 7.62 acres in Sector 53 for the project. It is likely to be completed by 2021.
The art complex will have an auditorium, art gallery, sculptor studio, artist workshop, library, exhibition hall, dance and music centres, meeting or media hall, administrative blocks, guesthouse, cafeteria, dormitory for 40 persons and a convenience store or shopping complex.
According to the initial plan, the Urban Local Bodies Department wanted the cultural centre to be developed on the lines of Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal or India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Three detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared till now. The Chief Minister had not approved the first report while the second was revised to prepare the final DPR, which has got the go-ahead.
e-waste management
Gurugram, being the IT hub of north India, is one of the biggest producers of e-waste though there is no official survey or data regarding it. Waking up to the gravity of the problem in the city, the MCG has hired a private agency to collect e-waste from residential and commercial complexes and recycle it on a pilot basis. Items such as laptops, computers, microwaves, tube lights, bulbs, batteries, mobile phone and laptop chargers, television set-top boxes, modems, and door bells land at the Bandhwari e-fill in the absence of a separate disposal mechanism. So far, no e-waste management system has been set up in 17 localities of the city, including Cedar Estate, IVY Apartments, H block in DLF Phase 1, Hibiscus Apartments, Harmony Homes, Malibu Towne, Grand Arch condominium, and KPMG's India office in DLF Phase 2.
Sadar Bazaar beautification
This oldest and busiest market of Gurugram is a heritage in a shambles. Problems such as massive encroachments, illegal squatters, high vehicular movement, lack of public seating spaces and pedestrian walkways, lack of shelters and signage have long troubled the market. Inspired by the Amritsar heritage street, the MCG plans to revamp this decades-old bazaar.
According to the plan, the lanes in the market will be declared vehicle free and will be converted into a tourist hub like Galleria Market. It will not just have enough space to walk but also to sit and relax. A massive beautification drive is also on the cards. The facade will be uplifted to give it a unified look, besides providing green shelters and even fountains at junctions.
Badshahpur leisure hub
This natural drain has proved to be a big headache for the city as every monsoon season it gets flooded, leading to flash floods. Besides removing encroachments and widening the drain, a 6-km stretch along it will be developed as a leisure and entertainment space at a cost of over Rs 100 crore.
The beautification of the area along the drain will see the creation of facilities such as cycling tracks, walkways and jogging tracks, basketball and lawn tennis courts, open-air gymnasiums, food courts, green belts, open-air theatres, small ponds, and parks. The lane on the extreme left next to the drain will have a space marked for green belts, rainwater harvesting pits, benches, sewage treatment plant and a food court. For establishing fountains, basketball court, open-air gyms, lawn tennis court, green belts, open-air theatres and small ponds, the right-most lane has been earmarked. The three lanes in the middle will have spaces for cycle tracks, walkway and jogging tracks.
Multi-level parking
While the only multi-level parking in Sector 29 is not yet popular, the MCG has planned three new multi-level car parking slots in old Gurgaon to decongest the area, especially around Sadar Bazaar. The parking slots are expected to solve the long-standing problem. Encroachments causing congestion and a space crunch for pedestrians will also be removed. The plan is to construct three nine-storey buildings — one on the plot behind the post office in Sadar Bazaar; the second behind the Veterinary Hospital; and the third in Kaman Sarai. One of these buildings will also house a shopping complex, besides a parking lot. The nine-floor parking will have three floors underground.
Redevelopment
The Municipal Corporation has planned to redevelop the old city area to bring it on a par with Gurugram city. The first in the list is Sadar Bazaar. According to the plan, the lanes of Sadar Bazaar will be declared a no-vehicle zone and beautified. The project will include beautification and sanitation works as well as development of green spaces and parking facilities.
Infrastructure to improve: Yadav
"We will take up all long-pending capital-intensive projects this year. The city will see a major infrastructure boost with the completion of these civic projects. Many projects have been initiated in small pockets on a pilot basis and the results are encouraging." Yashpal Yadav MC Commissioner
Metro expansion highlights
23 stations, 6 inter-change stations
Stretch Budget Deadline
31 km Rs 6,000 cr 2024
Metro stations proposed
HUDA City Centre, Sec 45, Cyber Park, Sec 46, 47, & 48, Technology Park, Udyog Vihar Phase 6, Sec 10, 37, 9, 7, 4, & 5, Basai, Ashok Vihar, Sec 3, Krishna Chowk, Palam Vihar Extension
Sadar Bazaar
Proposal
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