Upset over poor civic infra, 8K in Faridabad to boycott polls

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, May 24

As many as 8,000 voters of some of the residential sectors in Greater Faridabad have announced that they would boycott polling on Saturday in view of their grievances regarding civic amenities remaining unresolved. Banners regarding boycotting the polls have been put at some of the spots, it is reported.

This was the last resort

Bhupender Dagar, a resident of C Block, said residents should get basic amenities at no extra cost and their ‘exploitation’ had led to the RWAs of 12 blocks to agitate and decide not to cast their vote. The RWAs, having 8,000 voters, had decided to boycott the polls as the last resort.

Residents made to pay for road repair

Prafull Sharma of one of the RWAs alleged that while no consent was taken from the residents prior to the repair of the road for which the bills were generated, the lack of transparency in collecting the charges had also been a concern.

“The issue has already been raised with the authorities and the developer, but they have failed to address the issue and the residents of various blocks of the sectors between 75 and 89 in Greater Faridabad have decided to unanimously boycott the election,” said Gynanender Khatana, president of the RWA of one of the block in Sector 85, here. He said the basic amenities in the area was in bad shape and the residents were in for a shock when they received a bill for one of the roads repaired by the developer in March this year. “If the MLAs or the MP are unable to provide or ensure that the residents have access to basic amenities then what is the use of electing them,” says Khatana.

Alok Bharangar, a resident of Sector 85, said the occupants of the four-floor building on 500 sq yards had been asked to pay around Rs 50,000 for the repair of one of the roads. The amount was demanded in addition to the regular maintenance bill generated by the company each month. He said though the residents were ready to pay for the amenities, they should not be charged for the repair of roads every time these were damaged as they had already paid the charges at the time of taking the possession of the house. He claimed that an additional amount in the name of common area maintenance for the street lighting was also being charged.

Bhupender Dagar, a resident of C Block, said residents should get basic amenities at no extra cost and their ‘exploitation’ had led to the RWAs of 12 blocks to agitate and decide not to cast their vote. The RWAs, having 8,000 voters, had decided to boycott the polls as the last resort. Prafull Sharma of one of the RWAs alleged that while no consent was taken from the residents prior to the repair of the road for which the bills were generated, the lack of transparency in collecting the charges had also been a concern. Rohit Mohan, vice-president, BPTP Limited, said the company was ready to discuss and resolve the matter amicably. He said no unjustified charges were taken from the residents in the name of maintenance. A residential area of over 1,000 acres had been developed by the company here.

Rajesh Nagar, MLA from the Tigaon Assembly segment, under which the area fell, claimed that he had no information of the decision of the poll boycott by anyone. He said all help would be extended to the residents to resolve the problem, if any. The residents must exercise their right to franchise, he said.

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