Single head for Gurugram civic body, GMDA; Will make decision making quicker, say officials

Notably, GMDA was constituted in 2018 by the government after years long deliberations to improve the coordination among different government bodies in Gurugram district and to reduce the multiplicity of authorities

For the first time in Gurugram’s history, the city’s two key civic agencies -- the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) -- will be headed by a single official, PC Meena. The move, senior government officials said, is aimed at improving the functioning of both agencies and ensure that maintenance and development work, which often get delayed owing to multiplicity of agencies, are executed in a timely manner. Simply put, the decision-making will be quicker.

It was late on Monday evening that the Haryana government announced the appointment of MCG commissioner Meena as the chief executive officer of GMDA as well. (HT Photo)

It was late on Monday evening that the Haryana government announced the appointment of MCG commissioner Meena as the chief executive officer of GMDA as well.

To ensure that the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) is also.in sync with GMDA, which looks after the larger metropolitan area, the state government has given newly appointed commissioner of MCM Yashpal Yadav the charge of additional CEO, GMDA. This step, government officials said, was in tune with the overall thinking to bring all these agencies on a single page, particularly in view of state elections that are scheduled for next year

Notably, GMDA was constituted in 2018 by the government after years long deliberations to improve the coordination among different government bodies in Gurugram district and to reduce the multiplicity of authorities. Another objective was to.ensure that decision making takes place locally and every file is not required to be sent to Chandigarh for approval.

Meena, the newly appointed GMDA CEO, said while a number of key objectives have been met by both agencies, more could be done as both MCG and GMDA carry out similar kind of work; only the scale of execution is different. “It has been seen in the past that due to multiplicity of agencies, the execution of various infrastructure, development and maintenance work gets delayed in the city. A single official heading both agencies will help in better coordination within and outside the agencies,” he said.

Currently, GMDA primarily takes care of the master network and master infrastructure of the city, including water supply, road, sewage and stormwater network. The MCG, on the other hand, looks after the micro network and last mile delivery of water supply, sewage network and other related infrastructure in the municipal area defined under the Municipal Act.

Both agencies work in contiguous areas and for almost the same set of population, said senior government officials.

“We are supplying bulk water to the city, while MCG supplies the same to end-users. Sometimes, it is seen that water is available but the local network is inadequate. In an opposite scenario, it is also possible that MCG has created infrastructure and has funds but the prime executing agency doesn’t have the capacity to implement the project on a larger scale. Both these scenarios create inefficiencies and needs to be avoided,” said Meena.

Meena, who will take charge as GMDA CEO on Wednesday, said macro level planning done by the GMDA, and micro.level execution being done by MCG will be aligned and officials from both agencies and field workers will be asked to work in a more coordinated and collaborative manner.

“Both GMDA and MCG have strengths and weaknesses and we will try to ensure that the former are maximised and latter are reduced to ensure betterment of the city. The decision making will be quicker,” he said, adding that in crunch situations, it could greatly help in saving time.

Meena was appointed as the MCG commissioner at the start of this year. He served as Gurugram deputy commissioner from 2011 to 2013, and as MCG commissioner in the second half of 2013 and was thereafter appointed as administrator, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran, Gurugram, till the middle of 2014.

Jawahar Yadav, officer on special duty to the Haryana chief minister, said the decision to give charge of both agencies to a single official is aimed at ensuring better planning, coordination and execution of development work in the city.

“This will help in quicker decision making, fewer delays and improved delivery of services to residents. This is an experiment and not a permanent development; in the future, both agencies could have different chiefs,” he said.