Municipal agency, RTO pass the buck over construction of auto-rickshaw stands in Gurugram

Auto-rickshaw commuters have to face problems on a regular basis, as Gurugram has only one auto-rickshaw stand at Huda City Centre since February 2014.

A week after the district administration directed the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to identify sites for constructing auto-rickshaw stands in the city, officials from both the civic body and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) are squabbling over who is going to carry out the task.

A view of Rickshaw, Auto Rickshaw and E-Rickshaw stand outside the Huda City Centre Metro station in Gurugram. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

On July 3 during a road safety meeting, Mohammad Imran Raza, additional deputy commissioner and secretary of RTO, had directed the MCG to identify sites where auto-rickshaw stands can be constructed.

Auto-rickshaw commuters have to face problems on a regular basis, as Gurugram has only one auto-rickshaw stand at Huda City Centre since February 2014.

MCG officials said on Thursday that they were waiting for a list of potential sites from RTO before proceeding ahead. “We are waiting for the RTO to submit a list of possible sites where they are intending to construct the stands. Once they submit it, we will corroborate from our records whether the particular site falls under MCG land, and then necessary steps can be initiated to transfer land to RTO. We are yet to receive any such list from their end,” said Vivek Gill, executive engineer, MCG (headquarters).

There are approximately 25,000 auto-rickshaws plying in the city, of which 16,000 run on diesel and 9,000 on CNG.

Commuters have to face problems due to lack of auto stands. “Finding an auto-rickshaw is a major struggle for me. Despite Golf Course Extension Road having a large volume of traffic, auto-rickshaws are limited. Sometimes, it takes 15-20 minutes to find one. If there is a stand in the vicinity, I can get a drop by my office till there, and cover the remaining journey in the auto-rickshaw,” said Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Sikanderpur.

It has been more than three years when the MCG was first asked to identify sites for constructing auto-rickshaw stands. In March 2016, when the traffic police had issued fines to auto-rickshaw drivers for illegal parking at a large scale, their union leaders met the then police commissioner, Navdeep Singh Virk, and apprised him of the lack of stands.

Virk subsequently wrote to former MCG commissioner TL Satyaprakash to provide such stands.

In April 2016, MCG hired a private firm to identify sites for constructing stands for the auto-rickshaws. “Within six months, the firm had submitted drawings of 43 sites for constructing stands to the MCG, which included areas near the metro stations, malls, commercials hubs, and government offices. However, both Satyaprakash and Virk were transferred soon after and the project came to an abrupt end,” said Yogesh Kumar Sharma, state general secretary, Haryana Auto Chalak Sanghatan.

Virk had been transferred from the city in August 2016, and Satyaprakash in January 2017.

Sharma said that last month, union leaders had met with RTO officials and raised their concerns which led to the matter being taken up with the MCG after a three-year stall.