How Gurgaon’s growth story turned sour

When the Haryana government began developing Gurgaon, it was envisaged to be a world-class model city with international standards of roads and other civic amenities.

When the Haryana government began developing Gurgaon, it was envisaged to be a world-class model city with international standards of roads and other civic amenities. However, thanks to shoddy infrastructure, the Millennium City dream has gone sour.

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In the earlier years of its development, the city became synonymous with young professionals, technology firms and high-end restaurants.

The development took a frantic pace and everyone wanted their share of the lucrative pie. Big names such as Citibank, Motorola, IBM, Oberoi, Trident and Westin entered the city with a lot of hope. There was a frantic spurt in development of malls; it was almost being called the shopping capital of Asia.

With so much of positive activity, why is gloom prevailing in the air? Why are residents and companies feeling cheated? Why has Gurgaon's sheen worn off? The first and foremost problem to be tackled is infrastructure.Among the newly-developed cities of India, this is probably the only city which is facing maximum problems related to water, electricity and bad roads. The idea behind building a world-class city was noble, but it wasn't backed up with proper implementation. The nexus of builders and government has killed the entire development plan.

Noida, another satellite town to Delhi, is connected with six artery roads. Compare that to Gurgaon, which is only connected to two roads, and you understand why commuting is such a nightmare to-and-fro the city.

(The writer is a resident of Malibu Town)