Hurdles stalling construction works in new sectors in Gurugram: GMDA officials

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has identified 168 points of hindrance in new sectors of the city, which affect developmental works, due to the transfer of management of assets between different agencies, said officials on Monday.

These include 30 issues in water supply, 38 in the sewage system, 40 in road construction/repair, and 60 in drainage systems. Five of these issues have been resolved and the rest are being monitored by the GMDA and Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).

“Many gaps were identified in new sectors — from 58 to 115 — when they were handed over by the then Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to the GMDA. When we started constructing roads in these places, we identified issues such as litigation matters, unpaved roads, and pending transfer of plots. The GMDA chief executive officer holds fortnightly meetings to resolve these issues at the earliest. Five hindrances have been resolved, and the work for the rest is underway,” said Pardeep Kumar, chief engineer for GMDA’s infrastructure II division.

The authority has not yet decided on a timeline for resolving the matters.

The Haryana government formed the GMDA in 2017 for better management and development of infrastructure in Gurugram to solve the growing needs of a rapidly expanding city. However, the state government had then decided that the management of sewerage and drainage networks in the new sectors will be handed over to the GMDA only after proper lines are laid by the existing agency working on them, i.e. the HSVP.

The GMDA later took over water supply and construction of roads, but has also been facing problems as some land where roads have to be constructed are subjudice due to differences between local villagers and developers.

The authority has also been facing issues as many land owners have not been agreeing to rates for selling their land, there is a delay in transfer of purchased land as the matter is subjudice, and there is a lack of bids for tenders issued for development work in these sectors.

Kumar also said that “one of the primary issues the agencies are facing is that contractors appointed by the HSVP in 2012 are not willing to work as per the original rates.”

“Works were completed on sites where contractors could work easily, but work on several stretches was halted due to different issues. Now, the contractors do not want to work as per the earlier decided rates, especially for sewerage and drainage, which the GMDA had not taken over earlier. There was no price escalation clause in the document signed with the contractors, so we are still working on resolving these issues,” Kumar added.

Sudhir Rajpal, chief executive officer (CEO) of GMDA, could not be reached for a comment despite several attempts.