Gurugram RWAs welcome tie-up on green spaces, urge MCG to cut red tape

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Gurugram's Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other community groups have welcomed the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram's (MCG) move to enhance city parks and green spaces but urged the Haryana government to treat RWAs as partners and not contractors. MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya called the initiative a step toward 'shared civic responsibility. (HT Photo)
Voicing the thoughts of RWAs, Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, vice president of the RWA of Sector 23A, said residents are excited about the MCG commissioner's vision of boosting green spaces through citizen engagement but pointed to gaps in the current 'Park and Greenbelt Maintenance Policy'.
'The Haryana government must call this initiative 'Bhagidari' with RWAs, and not a contractual agreement with maintenance agencies. RWAs are voluntary welfare bodies, not service contractors, and must be treated as partners of the urban local body,' Tripathy said.
He further recommended replacing the mandatory notarized agreements with a simple 'Partnership Terms and Conditions' document. 'In practice, MCG remains the primary maintaining agency. RWAs are being brought in to support this effort, with financial assistance — not hired as contractors,' he added.
RWAs have also raised concerns about the stringent financial conditions, which require submission of bills, cheques, and cash vouchers, increasing paperwork for both residents and officials. Many believe this conveys distrust and delays payments critical for upkeep. 'MCG routinely delays payments by months. Our park maintenance bill from March 2025 remains unpaid. New work orders were issued only in June after three months, leaving us without funds to maintain parks or pay gardeners,' Tripathy said.
RWA president of Sector 46, Rajkumar Yadav echoed similar concerns. 'Minimal paperwork is needed in the digital age. RWAs should upload bills online, and payments must be cleared within two weeks. The process should be limited to junior engineer and executive engineer approval to avoid bureaucratic delays,' Yadav said, adding that RWAs should also be allowed to lock parks at night to prevent anti-social activities.
MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya called the initiative a step toward 'shared civic responsibility.' He confirmed several RWAs have approached MCG with proposals, and the corporation will prioritise parks with chronic maintenance gaps. 'Residents want better-maintained parks. This model empowers communities while ensuring accountability through MCG's supervision,' Dahiya said.
Praveen Malik, president of Rising (SARE) Homes Society in Sector 92, called for expanding the initiative to New Gurugram and freeing encroached land parcels for green development. 'With monsoon approaching, this is the ideal time to hand over parks and green belts to RWAs. In Manesar, land patches encroached by locals must be cleared and converted into green areas with builder and RWA support. We've already turned one garbage dump into a lush park,' Malik said.
The Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department offers ₹ 4 per square metre per month for maintenance, with annual increases and strict conditions to keep parks public and prevent commercialisation. Residents hope with greater trust, streamlined processes, and fair financial support, Gurugram can set an example for participatory green development.