Gurugram RWAs meet DC Yadav over sanitation issues

The RWAs also expressed their objection to not being invited to attend a meeting on pollution held earlier this month by MCG

Representatives of 40 RWAs (residents’ welfare associations) in Gurugram on Monday called upon the deputy commissioner, Nishant Yadav, to apprise him of their problems related to sanitation, cleanliness, and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) not giving them funds to maintain parks, people familiar with the matter said.

Residents of several sectors said they have repeatedly complained about broken roads, lack of sanitation, and waste burning. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The RWAs also expressed their objection to not being invited to attend a meeting on pollution held earlier this month by MCG.

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav, when asked about the issues raised by the RWAs, said, “We will take up these grievances with the concerned authorities.”

The RWA representatives had gathered under the banner of United Gurugram RWAs (UGR) and also submitted memorandums to the chief minister regarding their grievances and sought redressal of their issues.

A representative of Sector 15 part one complained that their RWA has been asking MCG contractors repeatedly for their neighbourhood to be cleaned but to no avail. The parks are in bad condition with horticulture waste lying on the roads and contractors don’t listen to the pleas of residents and RWAs, said the representative.

Residents of Sector 23A said they have repeatedly complained about broken roads, lack of sanitation, and waste burning in the area to civic agencies but no action has been taken by civic agencies. “The garbage and waste is not being lifted and it often leads to burning, which causes pollution,” said Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, a resident of Sector 23A on social media website X.

Residents said that the government must overhaul civic agencies to improve the civic situation.

Chaitali Mandhotra, convenor, of UGR, said that due to the shortage of engineering and other regular staff of MCG, the city was facing a shortage of water supply, sewage overflow, lack of sanitation, and poor horticulture work.

“Grievances of water, sewer, road conditions, and drainage are not being addressed even after repeated follow-ups. We request the state government to fill vacant posts in MCG and also to ensure that minor issues such as funds for maintenance of parks are released to RWAs immediately,” she said, adding that resolution of civic complaints must be the priority of all agencies in the city.

Praveen Yadav, president, of UGR, said RWAs in the city are important stakeholders but they were not called for an important meeting on pollution issues held on April 10 in the city. “We fail to understand on what basis were the invites given. What are the criteria for choosing those few (not from any RWAs) who attended this meeting other than government officials? What is the intention behind ignoring the RWAs of Gurugram and keeping them completely in the dark about a meeting that was under the name of RWAs,” he said in the memorandum submitted to the DC.