MCG takeover of 11 private colonies in the works

The process of the takeover of 11 privately developed plotted colonies by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has finally gained momentum, with the civic

The process of the takeover of 11 privately developed plotted colonies by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has finally gained momentum, with the civic body planning to start the process of initiating a deficiency assessment survey in these areas early next year.

HT Image

On Wednesday, the MCG and department of town and country planning (DTCP) held a meeting at the Huda office complex in Sector 14, during which the DTCP submitted the detailed project report (DPR) and service estimates of all the 11 colonies to the MCG.

On Monday, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had directed both MCG and DTCP to expedite the transfer process, after he was informed by MCG councillors that there had been no progress in the matter since last year.

Last year, in November, former MCG commissioner and current deputy commissioner Amit Khatri had sent a letter to DTCP in Chandigarh for taking over the plotted colonies of Mayfield Garden, Malibu Towne, Vipul World, Sushant Lok-2, Sushant Lok-3, Rosewood City, Greenwood City, Ardee City, Uppal Southend, DLF Phase-4 and DLF-5. Agendas for taking over these 11 colonies have also been approved in the MCG House meetings.

The takeover of the 11 privately developed areas is limited to plotted colonies and does not include condominiums or gated societies.

Following Wednesday’s meeting, the MCG has decided to initiate steps towards preparing the basic infrastructure deficiency report, for which the process of hiring a private consultant has now started. “The private consultant would compare services listed under DPR and service estimates, based on which plans were approved when the colonies were coming up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to check if any of the listed services are there on-ground at present, and if their condition is optimum or deteriorating. Based on the report, we would assess the monetary sum required to fix deficiencies in these colonies before the MCG takes them over,” said Raman Sharma, chief engineer, MCG.

Sharma said that each private developer would be given the option to either fix the deficiencies themselves and hand over the colony or pay the requisite sum needed to do so, and immediately hand over the colonies to the MCG.

The MCG has appointed executive engineer Vishal Garg to finalise the requisite paperwork for appointing a consultant and sent a proposal to MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh for approval.

DLF Phase-4 and DLF-5 are located along the Golf Course Road, while the remaining nine colonies are located close to Golf Course Road and Golf Course Extension Road.

MCG was scheduled to hold a meeting with DTCP officials at its Sector 34 office on Thursday as well. However, officials decided to discuss their queries over the phone instead.

The takeover of 11 colonies is the second phase in the transfer of private colonies to the MCG. In the first phase, the MCG had initiated the takeover of nine private colonies.

Since March 2019, the MCG has taken over privately developed colonies of Palam Vihar, Suncity, Sushant Lok-1, Nirvana Country, South City-1 and South City-2. The takeover of DLF Phases 1-3 is pending as the developer had decided to fix civic amenities instead of paying the MCG to do so and transferring the colonies with immediate effect.