Who will do what in Gurgaon? Residents confused over GDA role

Confusion over role of GDA and MCG increases as the civic body is in process of taking over several sectors

Gurgaon: After the announcement about the formation of the Gurgaon Development Authority (GDA), residents are confused over the role of the proposed body and the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation. Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar made the announcement on Monday, saying the process would start from November 1.

MCG office in Sector 34. Confusion over roles of GDA and MCG increase as the civic body is in process of taking over several sectors. (HT FIle)

After the GDA is formed, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) will be the only other major government agency in the city.

Now, the MCG is in the process of taking over Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) sectors and privately developed colonies in a phased manner, but there is lack of clarity about what will happen to the takeover after the GDA comes into the picture.

The MCG has made it clear that after the takeover, it would collect maintenance charges, which residents now pay builders in privately developed colonies, in addition to property tax.

“People are happy with GDA announcement for infrastructure development. But, they are confused about jurisdiction of agencies. The MCG is in the process of taking over sectors and in such a situation, questions are being raised over the maintenance part and taxes,” Dinesh Agarwal, president of sector 14 residents’ welfare association (RWA), said.

Residents are also unsure about what would happen to the roles of the Huda, Town and Country Planning, and zila parishad.

Official sources said the GDA would largely be based on the model of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA). In Jaipur, the roles of the JDA, zila parishad, and the municipal corporation are defined. But jurisdictions of JDA and the municipal corporation still overlap and confusion prevails over responsibilities of the agencies.

“It has to be ensured that there are no gaps, no lapses. Only then can the functioning of the GDA and the MCG be smooth. There is still confusion over the MCG’s taking over sectors and private colonies, and it has increased with the GDA announcement,” Atul Dev, convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Gurgaon chapter, said. Dev said responsibilities of both bodies should be clearly defined so that they cannot pass the buck.

Residents are also discussing about collection of property tax, and whether residents will have to pay separate taxes to the GDA and the MCG. There are also apprehensions whether they will have to alter their budgets as additional taxes might be levied.

“Before forming the GDA, confusion over the MCG should be minimised, as the purpose of corporation has totally failed. The MCG could not handle waterlogging, and forget other issues that they could not solve even when the MCG did not have financial problems,” Brij Mohan Mehta, executive member of Qutab enclave RWA, said.

Local MLA and Public works department minister Rao Narbir Singh said all issues would be addressed before forming the authority. “There will not be any scope for confusion as jurisdiction and roles of both bodies will be defined clearly,” he said.