Panel to meet on issues raised by people on demarcation of wards

Barring a few areas where the two wards were merged, the newly notified wards evoked some opposition from the public.

A committee, comprising officials of the directorate of Urban Local Bodies (ULB), Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the district administration, will assemble on Monday and deliberate on the issues raised by the public against the newly demarcated municipal wards.

On January 13, ULB issued a notification on the newly demarcated municipal wards and the residents were given ten days to voice their opinion on the move. (HT File Photo)

Of the existing 35 wards, 34 have been realigned following demarcation by an ad hoc committee comprising state-appointed bureaucrats, local politicians and other public representatives, last month.

On January 13, ULB issued a notification on the newly demarcated municipal wards and the residents were given ten days to voice their opinion on the move.

Sources said barring a few areas which witnessed the merger of two wards following demarcation, the newly notified wards evoked some opposition from the public.

The opposition, albeit muted, holds significance as the officials could introduce minor changes or alterations to the new wards on review. This, in turn, would pave the way for the Haryana government to issue election dates for the municipal elections that are due sometime in March.

“The summary of objections (regarding notified wards) from the public will be reviewed tomorrow. If an area has received sizeable opposition from a large consensus of locals then alterations may be incorporated upon reviewing and wards will be accordingly updated,” Amit Khatri, additional commissioner of MCG, said.

In the wake of demarcation, only few areas of ward numbers 1 and 35 continue to be within the ambit of the wards as before.

According to officials, the wards were reviewed with due deference to territorial jurisdiction in a bid to avoid overlapping of wards in the assembly segments of Gurgaon and Badshahpur. Besides, they also had to cut down on chances of a single locality being incorporated in two wards.

The wards, say officials, were demarcated in a manner so that the National Highway-8, railway lines and assembly constituencies serve as boundaries and prevent overlapping. However, the effort came to nought as overlapping couldn’t be prevented.

“Few areas in Sushant Lok Phase 1 and 2, Rajiv Nagar, sector 22 and Rajendra Park ended up being part of two wards following demarcation. Some locals have voiced opposition to this. However, since their numbers are low and the opposition largely muted, changes aren’t likely to be incorporated after review on Monday,” a senior MCG official said.

Several areas in sectors 17, 100, Ashok Vihar and Wazirabad have ended up being part of two wards following demarcation. However, officials claimed there has been little or no opposition from locals in these areas.

As directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the elections to the MCG will be held in March.