Concern for Gurugram: Sector 22 locals flag roads, garbage, stray cattle woes

Residents said irregular sanitation has worsened garbage accumulation, while MCG plans to deploy workers and has floated a ₹1.8 crore cattle-catching tender.

Residents of Sector 22, a well-connected residential locality in Gurugram, have raised concerns over deteriorating roads, illegal dumping, stray cattle, poor market upkeep and neglected community parks.

The main entry road to the market in Sector 22A, as seen on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

They added that the issues have compounded each other, with garbage attracting stray cattle, damaged roads hampering movement and encroachments making the local market difficult to navigate.

Stray cattle, sanitation woes

Illegally dumped garbage in the Sector 22A market, seen on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Residents said stray cattle have become a major safety concern, frequently occupying roadsides, vacant plots and areas around garbage piles. Earlier, HT reported that around 7,000 stray cattle roam the streets of Gurugram.

Bhim Singh Yadav, a resident of Sector 22, said the problem was particularly severe in the area. “Our sector has most of the stray cattle. They are in vacant plots, along roadsides, on roads and around garbage piles; they are seen everywhere,” he said, adding that the vacant land behind the sector’s community centre had become a dumping ground for garbage and construction and demolition (C&D) waste, attracting more cattle. “This is where the stray cattle are seen in the largest numbers, and the worst part is that the MCG is doing nothing to address the problem,” he said.

“At present, this is one of the biggest issues in Gurugram. There needs to be stricter enforcement to tackle the problem. Stray cattle can come from anywhere and leave the streets dirty. We need stronger action from the authorities to address the issue,” said Aarti Sinha, another resident.

Residents also said garbage is routinely dumped behind the community centre, along roadsides and in green belts. Bhim Singh said residents were paying a private vendor for door-to-door collection because MCG’s service was irregular. “We pay private vendors for the work, and additionally, then we pay for the garbage tax along with property tax to MCG. This is just unfair for the residents,” he said.

Meanwhile, Naresh Kumar Yadav of Sector 22 said road sweeping had also been disrupted due to the sanitation workers’ strike. “There is garbage and dust all over. From the last two weeks, no sanitation worker has even come in our sector to clean the dust and garbage,” he said.

In response, Preetpal Yadav, joint commissioner (Swachh Bharat Mission), MCG, said the civic body was deploying sanitation workers across wards. “We are trying to accommodate the available workers so that roads are swept regularly and residents do not face any sanitation-related issues,” he said.

Meanwhile, Naresh Kumar, joint commissioner and nodal officer for stray cattle, said the agency assigned the stray cattle tender had failed to meet contractual obligations and had been penalised. “A tender for appointing two agencies to catch stray cattle was floated on August 11 at a total cost of ₹1.8 crore,” Kumar added.

Markets, roads, parks in poor shape

A stretch of internal road near Tikona Park in poor condition, seen on Tuesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Residents also flagged deteriorating roads, uneven patches, encroachments and illegal parking in the market. Bhim Singh said the market needed an urgent revamp. “The boundary wall in the market was damaged and collapsed into the drain during monsoon. That reflects the infrastructure condition in the market,” he added.

Sinha, meanwhile, said, “Poor roads had caused waterlogging during this monsoon, affecting us as well as the motorists.”

On February 28, HT reported that MCG would spend ₹21.5 crore to revamp all markets in Gurugram. Rakesh Yadav, ward councillor of Ward 3, said work had begun. “The work on footpaths has started. Contractors will commence the work once monsoon season is over,” he said.

In response, an MCG official, asking not to be named, said the work would cover green belts, parking areas and roads and would resume after the monsoon.

Residents said internal roads had worsened after water pipelines were laid across the sector. They said the roads were last laid in 2016 and had not undergone major repairs since then.

Locals also said stretches dug up for pipelines were not properly levelled. “The roads had sunk in several places, and many cars got stuck because of the uneven and damaged stretches,” he said. “In my own colony, there were five to six cars which were stuck, and the residents had to pay ₹1,000 or ₹1,500 to get the cars out,” Naresh Kumar Yadav added.

Rakesh Yadav, ward councillor of Ward 3, said roads would be repaired. “A ₹9 crore tender has been approved by the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) team, and once it is floated and awarded to an agency, the work will commence,” he said.

Residents also flagged that community parks were in such poor condition that people could not access them. Shiv Arora, another resident, said the park was poorly maintained. “The parks lack proper walking paths, and the uneven surface makes it difficult for pedestrians to walk. They need regular upkeep, including timely trimming of the grass,” he said.

In response, MCG officials, said a tender covering Sectors 21 and 22 had been floated to revamp the parks at an estimated cost of approximately ₹3 crore.