Residents draft charter of demands ahead of assembly elections

Gurugram: With a few weeks to go for the assembly polls, a group of around 40 residents of the city have drafted a charter of demands on issues pertaining to healthcare,

Gurugram: With a few weeks to go for the assembly polls, a group of around 40 residents of the city have drafted a charter of demands on issues pertaining to healthcare, education, environment, pollution and women’s safety, among others. According to the residents — some of them are experts in urban planning, environment, water and waste — the charter is a call for action from political parties and their candidates, and intends to serve as a channel for citizens’ concerns.

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The residents have been meeting for the last one month to devise actionable solutions to issues important for locals and “neglected by authorities”. “This is the first step in making the elections in Gurgaon and Badshahpur seats about the concerns of voters and residents of the city. We want specific, not vague, commitments from the candidates, and we have offered doable solutions,” said Arti Jaiman, station director of Gurgaon Ki Awaz, a community radio station here.

The 11 topics that the charter mentions are the Aravallis and their protection, right to health, right to education, urban planning, averting water and waste crisis, countering air pollution, strengthening local governance, women’s safety, reforming policing and promoting social harmony.

One of the demands made in the charter is repealing the Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, which the Haryana government had passed in February this year, opening thousands of acres of land in the Aravalli range for real estate development and mining. “The Aravallis is an important zone for groundwater recharge and its degradation is badly affecting the city’s air quality. We want that declaring the Aravallis as deemed forest be an issue taken up this election. The Aravalli Biodiversity Park should also be declared a forest,” said Chetan Agarwal, a city-based environmentalist.

The group said the city lacks basic government healthcare facilities and that the number of beds in the government hospital isn’t adequate. A demand to construct four civil hospitals with advanced medical facilities and a polyclinic in each sector is a part of the charter.

A set of demands to tackle Gurugram’s year-round air pollution includes setting up at least six air quality monitors in the city, in addition to the current two. Building of construction and demolition (C&D) waste treatment plants, promoting the use of solar energy and banning waste burning are suggested.

The residents said lack of women’s safety has put Gurugram in a spotlight. “Lack of safety is a reason why women can’t participate freely in social and political activities in the city,” said Kalpana Viswanath, co-founder and CEO of Safetipin app. She recommended building active surveillance infrastructure in the city for improved safety. “Well-lit streets, usable walking pavements and public toilets can go a long way. A standard operating procedure for every crime reported should be fixed by the police,” she added.

The residents now plan to campaign online through newly launched website ‘bologurgaon.com’, and also offline to take the charter to RWAs and local voters and seek their suggestions. “We will be approaching residents’ welfare associations and voters across the city who can send us their suggestions, based on which the charter will be modified. It will then be taken to the candidates in the elections to demand commitment,” said Rahul Roy, a member of the Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch, which is an inter-faith community-based organisation.

Box:

Some demands:

Save the Aravallis: Withdraw/repeal the PLPA Amendment Bill, re-notify the PLPA notifications that have lapsed – around 118 of a total of 130, declare entire Aravallis as deemed forest.

Right to education: Well maintained government primary schools in each sector, upgradation of secondary and senior secondary schools to match the population, monitor and ensure appropriate pupil-teacher ratio

Urban planning: No changes must be made to the 2031 master plan in this period, all government buildings should use renewable energy and implement rainwater harvesting.

Water crisis: Ensure minimum amount of water supply to each household especially the urban poor, migrant workers; separate storm water drainage system

Waste: Switch to decentralized waste management system; enforce strong bans and penalties for waste burning and dumping

Police reforms: Bring transparency to Gurgaon police functioning; fill vacant posts; form an independent police complaints authority

Inclusion and social harmony: Allocated land to Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths to build places of worship; create ‘Aman committees’ across all sectors to resolve disputes; promote social harmony through culture, arts, community festivals.