BJP apologises for Gurgaon rain mess, says will fix infra shortfalls

A spokesperson of the ruling BJP in Haryana said Gurgaon will have a new master plan for by mid-October.

Apologising to the public for inconvenience caused by waterlogging and traffic jams on July 28-29, a spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Haryana said the city will have a new master plan for by mid-October.

Party spokesperson Raman Malik also said previous master plans for the city are unconvincing.(Parveen Kumar/HT File Photo)

He said the preparation of the new plan has been outsourced and it will focus on system and infrastructure optimisation with minimal disturbance to residents. The plan will be prepared through global e-tender so that suggestions of experts are included. The plan is prepared to meet the demand of three decades.

While interacting with the media in Gurgaon on Wednesday, party spokesperson Raman Malik said Gurgaon was not built in two years and the previous governments were also responsible for the mess. He said previous master plans for the city are unconvincing.

“We apologise for the mess but those speaking (criticising government) on the issue led to the situation,” he said, pointing finger at the previous Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Malik said environmental clearances given by previous governments are questionable. He said there is no space for wetlands nor a system for stormwater. The parking space is also inadequate, he said.

“Master plans prepared by previous governments only told about land. The issues of parking, sewerage, storm water, disposal plant and handling human pressure were not addressed. What happened to flooding zones? Concrete structures have been erected in flooding zones,” he said while interacting with the media here on Wednesday.

Sources said the party swung into damage control and crisis management mode after the fiasco on Thursday and Friday. Party spokespersons have been asked to interact with the media and justify the government’s situation.

Malik said the administration had a hard time unwinding the gridlocked city after the downpour and CM Manohar Lal Khattar took stock of the situation.

Malik said the government is deliberating on the Gurgaon Development Authority (GDA) and it will be an independent body for taking decisions. Currently, the city has multiple government agencies, including the Haryana Urban Developement Authority and the Municipal Corporation, that often pass the buck on infrastructure deficiencies.