Ggn residents of pvt colonies protest against builders

Facing a civic neglect for years, residents of various private colonies have now united in their protests against private builders.

Delay in takeover of private colonies by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram along with various legal issues faced by the private builders has resulted in various civic problems in the private colonies.

With the situation only deteriorating over the past few years, citizens of various colonies are now forming joint action groups and registering their protest by taking it to the streets.

Recently on February 11, residents of Sushant Lok, built by Ansals, protested against the builder for failing to maintain the colony. With no improvement in situation, the residents of Ansals Sushant Lok have formed a joint action group with residents of Unitech South City and Ardee city.

The residents of these colonies will now intensify their protests against the private builders over poor maintenance of the colonies. Most of the residents are not only demanding quick transfer of the colonies to MCG but are also asking for the reimbursement of the maintenance fee deposited to the builders.

"Most of the private colonies in Gurugram are facing acute civic problems. Roads in the colonies are in dilapidated conditions. There are no proper garbage disposal system and poor security. The impending MCG takeover may be one of the reasons for the builders to not pay emphasis on maintenance. However, most of the builders denied basic civic facilities to its residents from the beginning," added Rekha Rawat, a resident of Ardee city.

"With most of the builders facing legal issues and reeling under debt, providing civic facilities has never been a priority for them since 2008. Unfortunately, the lack of transparency by the builders is causing immense problems for the residents.

From the time I have been staying in Ardee City, the condition of roads has continued to be in dilapidated conditions. There is no check on stray animals which come into the colony from nearby villages. There are no proper playing parks for children. Most of the residents in the private colonies today feel cheated," added Rawat.

Most of the citizen bodies are also accusing MCG of deliberately siding with the private builders and delaying the taking over of the maintenance of the colonies.

"We have tried to hold a number of meetings between the Private builders and MCG for quick takeover. MCG has stated that they will not take over the colonies until all the pending dues to the private builders are paid. Most of the builders are taking advantage of this and are continuing with their control over maintenance of the colonies," said Dhruv Bansal of Gurugram Citizen's Council.