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Civic activists call for integrated governance model in Gurugram
Experts said constitutional urban planning bodies remain underutilised despite the city’s expanding population and infrastructure needs.
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Gurugram’s civic woes — ranging from chronic waterlogging and traffic congestion to sewer overflows and damaged roads — are rooted in “fragmented governance” and “centralisation of powers,” according to experts and activists.
The concerns were raised during the “Gurgaon Civic Lab – All Hands Meet”, a civic policy discussion initiative organised by Mission 7374 Foundation, a think tank, in collaboration with Dwarka Expressway Gurugram Development Association (DXPGDA) and Digital Futurists, a community of tech experts,, on Sunday.
Speaking at the event, Mission 7374 Foundation president Gaurav Malik said Gurugram’s problems could not be solved only through flyovers, drains or construction projects. “The real issue is governance architecture. Unless Mayors and Councillors are given financial and administrative powers, every infrastructure reform will remain incomplete,” Malik said.
He said that although the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional recognition to Urban Local Bodies, most municipal institutions continue to function with limited authority while major policy and financial powers remain concentrated at the state government level.
Civic activist Sunny Singh Daultabad explained how the city’s rapid growth through industrialisation had significantly outpaced governance capacity over the past four decades.
“Gurugram did not fail overnight. We are seeing the cumulative effect of 40 years of disconnected planning, weak coordination and lack of integrated urban governance,” he said.
Referring to major expansion proposals such as the planned 5,000-acre land acquisition in Sohna, speakers argued that roads, drainage systems and utility networks are often approved without proper inter-agency coordination.
They proposed strengthening the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC), a constitutional body mandated for all metropolitan areas with a population of one million or more, for framing integrated city-level planning and execution.
The discussion also focused on infrastructure design failures, including incidents such as those at the Chintels housing society and recurring sewer overflows.
The speakers proposed the establishment of an urban development institute to train officials of Haryana’s civic bodies in modern urban planning, infrastructure management, and financial management.
They also proposed creating a shared services centre for integrated departmental planning and bringing all agencies under one umbrella.
The need for better property tax realisation and accrual-based accounting mechanisms was also realised.
Real estate entrepreneur Prakhar Sahay urged citizens to remain engaged in long-term institutional follow-up. “Large infrastructure projects move when citizens sustain pressure, remain organised and continue institutional follow-up for years,” Sahay said.
