Gurugram Sector 9A resident takes the lead on civic issues

According to Bhola, his work usually involves following up on complaints, meeting officials and pressing for action until results are visible.

Gurugram:When 46-year-old Lalit Suraj Bhola returned to India from the United States in 2003, he never thought that improving the civic infrastructure of a residential neighbourhood would become a defining part of his life. An IT engineer by profession, Bhola has spent years taking up residents’ complaints with civic authorities to make the sector a better place.

Lalit Suraj Bhola said his efforts to improve the neighbourhood started before he took up the formal responsibility. (HT PHOTO)

In 2017, Bhola became the general secretary of the Sector 9A residents’ welfare association (RWA). He said his efforts to improve the neighbourhood started before he took up the formal responsibility. The sector’s low-lying terrain has long posed challenges, particularly during the monsoon due to inadequate drainage and waterlogging, he added.

“I aimed to make Sector 9A one of the best sectors in Gurugram. Earlier, people looked down on the sector because it is one of the lowest-lying areas. Now, the sector has improved a lot,” he said.

Over the years, Bhola said he has taken up several infrastructure-related demands with the authorities. He said his efforts helped secure additional water tanks at the Sector 9A boosting station, covering a sewage treatment plant (STP) drain to address persistent foul odour, and improved connectivity to the Dwarka Expressway.

Bhola said he also worked to close a railway crossing and to install underground pipelines and stormwater drainage systems.

According to Bhola, his work usually involves following up on complaints, meeting officials and pressing for action until results are visible. The responsibility does not end with forwarding a complaint to the relevant department. It requires monitoring whether the work is carried out and whether it addresses the problem on the ground, he added.

“As citizens, we have to follow up with authorities time and again to make sure they take up our complaints. I keep meeting officials of different departments, and they have been kind enough to listen to our concerns,” said Bhola.

Bhola said he has joined other RWA representatives in seeking greater recognition for residents’ associations and a stronger role in decisions concerning parks, community centres and civic maintenance. He has argued that residents, as the end users of these facilities, should have a say in how they are managed.

“Residents continue to face civic service gaps, including sanitation-related concerns, requiring the RWA to keep engaging with the municipal corporation and other departments,” he said.