Ggn yet to find concrete solution for encroachments

Gurugram: With several parts of Delhi undergoing a massive anti-encroachment drive, the problem of illegal land encroachment is being felt in Gurugram as well.

For long, there have been complaints that prime areas and footpaths are being deliberately taken over in the city.

The problem has also led to confrontation between members of different religious communities, with the most prominent such incident being reported at the Air Force Ammunition Depot, where residents of the encroached land resorted to stone pelting, for the third time on Wednesday.

After a stern order from the Punjab and Haryana high court, the district administration was forced to raze illegally structures built within a range of 300 metres of the Defence area.

According to a survey by public agencies, there are over 6,000 such structures built at the prohibited area.

Most protesters claim that the officials took money and provided them with civic amenities.

Encroachment on the city pavements and wrongly parked vehicles are some of the major challenges faced by pedestrians in the city.

While Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has claimed that its officials are working towards providing better walking spaces to the citizens, most residents do not seem to be impressed by the tall claims.

Complaints of encroachments in the city continue to be received in large numbers at the MCG office.

Even though the Corporation has run campaigns to remove encroachments from the city pavements, residents have highlighted that encroachment on pavements is a regular sight in the city.

Residents also complain that in addition to the old parts of the city, even posh areas of Gurugram face the problem of lack of spaces for pedestrians.

"Problems of encroachment continue to be rampant in the city. MG Road, better known as Mall Mile, has extremely poor quality of footpaths," said Raghav Sahni, a Gurugram resident.

"Even in MG Road – which happens to be one of the most recognised parts of Gurugram – there are encroachments and illegal parking," he added.

In some areas of Gurugram, surprisingly, there are no footpaths at all.

What worsens the situation, according to citizens, is the large number of complaints of illegally parked vehicles, due to lack of proper parking spaces in the city.

To check this menace, the district administration has taken several measures, such as ensuring fee parking in malls and other commercial structures and introducing a policy for street vendors.

Despite the noble intentions, the execution of plans seems to be lacking.