Gurugram: Three weeks on, work on just one MCG project begins

This has prompted mayor Madhu Azad to seek a progress report from officials and convey the issue to the directorate of urban local bodies for further action

Three weeks after the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) approved 26 projects in its house meeting, work on only one of them has commenced. This has prompted mayor Madhu Azad to seek a progress report from officials and convey the issue to the directorate of urban local bodies (DULB) for further action.

(HT archive)

The civic body conducted its last house meeting on December 27 last year, in which projects such as rejuvenating 72 ponds in the city, fixing water lines in DLF phases 1 and 2, fixing water lines and stormwater drains in Sushant Lok 1, constructing a Uttarakhand Bhawan, and constructing a badminton court in Sector 4, among others.

According to Azad, councillors recently apprised her that little to no work has started for the projects approved for their respective wards.

Of the 26 projects, MCG has only started constructing a badminton court in the Sector 4 area for ₹1.5 crore, said the officials.

“While I understand that a large number of MCG officials are deputed for Covid-19 related issues amid the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, it is also imperative that development work in the city does not come to a complete standstill. Hence, I have asked for a status report on the projects approved during the last month’s house meeting,” said Azad, adding that she will send the report to DULB for taking further action.

“Due to the ongoing third Covid-19 wave, a large number of workers have returned home, as a result several MCG projects are stuck. Due to this scenario, tenders for several projects approved in the last month’s house meeting are yet to be floated. We are expecting to start this process in early February and start on-ground work soon after,” said a senior MCG official, requesting anonymity.

Coincidentally, the lack of action in projects approved during previous house meetings was brought up by a number of councillors as well as the mayor in last month’s house meeting. They had asked MCG’s engineering wing for an explanation on the delay, leading to MCG commissioner directing officials to carry out work approved in the house meeting on priority and in a time-bound manner.