Let down by MCG, RWA pools money to set up sheds in Gurgaon’s Sector 46 parks

The sector has 17 parks, both small and large, but none has a canopy or shed to shield residents from the scorching sun or rain.

After several failed attempts to get funds from the authorities, the residents’ welfare association (RWA) members of Sector 46 decided to pool money to construct canopies in their two parks.

The canopy under construction in sector 46 Rao Tula Ram Park. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

They waited five years for the authorities to get the job done, but with no help forthcoming they eventually decided to take the onus on themselves.

The sector has 17 parks, both small and large, but none has a canopy or shed to shield residents from the scorching sun or rain.

The RWA will spend ₹2.5 lakh for erecting sheds at the two parks — Sadhbhawna and Rao Tula Ram parks. Work has already begun. Senior citizens and women often complained to the RWA that in the absence of a shed, they often had to rush back to escape the blazing sun or rain.

“We had been trying to get funds from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). We approached them on several occasions, but they kept dragging their feet in the matter. We already have a lot of projects going on in the sector and were short of funds, but still managed to pool money to start work at the two parks at the earliest,” Rajkumar Yadav, president, RWA, Sector 46, said.

The construction of sheds will take place in phases and is expected to be completed in the next couple of years.

“Elderly women had been asking for a serene and peaceful place where they could sing devotional songs in the mornings and evenings. Parks are ideally suited for the same. We got the RWA members to contribute money ahd started work on setting up sheds at our parks,” Subhash Sachdeva, a resident, said.

The MCG pays ₹3 per square feet for the maintenance of parks to the RWA. However, members of the association alleged that the amount isn’t enough to maintain 17 parks.

“We are paying salaries ranging between ₹8,000 to ₹11,000 to 19 gardeners and have to make additional expenses for grass, plants and other infrastructure as well. We need to beautify the parks so as to encourage residents to visit the green spaces within the premises of their society than going elsewhere,” Yadav said.