Gurugram civic body wants DLF 1, 2 & 3 handover by December 2021

GURUGRAM: The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has directed the developer of DLF 1, 2 and 3 to complete the deficit infrastructure work by December 31, after which the long-pending takeover of the three licensed colonies will begin in the first week of January next year.

On Tuesday, councillors of wards 34 and 35 and other civic body officials conducted a meeting with the representatives of DLF regarding the takeover of these colonies. MCG’s chief engineer Thakur Lal Sharma directed the developer to speed up the pending work on the amenities as per the detailed project report (DPR) as the takeover process will begin soon.

Meanwhile, the developer sought more time and informed the civic body that pending work, including road resurfacing, sewer, drainage, water supply, horticulture, community centres and others will be completed by March next year. But Sharma did not agree to allow more time. The officials said earlier, the deadline to complete the deficient work of these colonies was set for June 30 but the developer failed to complete the pending work.

The developer, on the other hand, submitted a letter to MCG seeking verification of the status of the progress in DLF 1, 2 and 3. In the letter, the developer said service-wise work progress as per DPR has been shared with the civic body so a verification report should be provided by MCG for the same.

Meanwhile, the MCG officials confirmed that the corporation will start the upgradation of amenities and developmental works that are out of the purview of DPR even before the takeover. These works include cleaning of roads and drains, installation of gym canopy in parks, installation of STP for recycling of sewage, installation of a compost plant, trimming of trees and laying of tiles in common areas.

Rama Rani Rathee, the Ward 34 councillor, said the takeover has been pending for a long time. The residents are facing a tough time and delay is further adding to their woes. “Road work is pending mainly in G block of DLF 1, J and L blocks of DLF 2 and due to increase in FAR, there is an excess load on civic infrastructure,” she added.

According to MCG rules, the developer either has to complete all such work by itself or pay the corporation for doing it on its behalf. In this case, DLF has agreed to complete all pending work but has been dragging its feet on the deadline.

In 2017, CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced the government’s decision to take over 11 private colonies — Malibu Towne, Vipul World, Mayfield Garden, Sushant Lok 2 and 3, Greenwood City, Rosewood City, Ardee City, Uppal Housing, DLF 4 and 5. However, it faced many delays due to uncertainties over regulatory and legal implications of the takeover.

In December 2019, the state government directed the MCG to expedite the process. The department of town and country planning subsequently submitted service estimates of these colonies. However, to date, the civic body has taken over only Suncity, South City 1 and 2, Palam Vihar and Sushant Lok 1, while the takeover process of DLF phases 1, 2 and 3 is still ongoing.