Gurugram civic body gets financial approval to start work in 5 private colonies

With the code of conduct in force for the 2019 general elections on March 10, there was uncertainty among officials and residents about the status of the financial approval.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has started preliminary maintenance work in five private colonies after receiving a financial approval from the Urban Local Bodies (ULB), officials said on Saturday.

Suncity is the only colony to be transferred to the MCG. However, work in other colonies has started. (Parveen Kumar/HT File Photo)

With the code of conduct in force for the 2019 general elections on March 10, there was uncertainty among officials and residents about the status of the financial approval.

MCG officials privy to the matter said that the ULB had approved the work orders of the colonies prior to March 10, but the communication of the same was received by the MCG only earlier this week.

Prior to taking over each of the five colonies — Sushant Lok 1, South City 1 and 2, Nirvana Country and Palam Vihar — the MCG had made an estimate of the funds required to fix deficiencies in these colonies, based on which a detailed project report (DPR) was compiled.

Based on the works listed in the report, the ULB gave financial approval to the work tenders finalised by the MCG.

As per the MCG’s DPR, an expenditure of Rs 41.28 crore is required for fixing civic infrastructure in Sushant Lok Phase-1, Rs 19.32 crore to fix deficiencies in Palam Vihar, Rs 17.95 crore to fix deficiencies in South City 1, Rs 23.52 crore to fix deficiencies in South City 2 and Rs 9.80 crore to fix deficiencies in Nirvana Country.

“The MCG has initiated preliminary work in the five colonies following approval from the ULB. The contractors need to have clarity before they can allocate manpower and machinery. Thus, a survey is currently underway for determining the exact resources needed for carrying out work in these colonies. The process is expected to be completed by the end of this month, after which work, in full-scale, will commence in the five colonies,” said Yadav.

Residents said that the clarity over ULB’s financial approval is a major relief.

“Both South City 1-2 are riddled with potholed stretches. Some of the potholes have become so deep that people have started avoiding one of the three lanes on the internal road just to ensure their vehicles don’t break down. Thus, we have been desperate for MCG’s takeover. The code of conduct brought uncertainty that work may only commence after the elections. The latest update is, thus, a major relief for a lot of residents,” said R Srinivasan, a resident of South City 2.

Officials in the engineering wing said that after a partial survey of Sushant Lok-1, work on water supply and sewerage has started at a few locations.

The development marks the first time that the MCG officials have started on-ground work in a private colony.

The MCG was directed to take over the maintenance of private colonies by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in February 2016.