Gurgaon civic polls: Updated ward list will reach govt by Jan 29

Forty-five objections were raised by city residents against the newly demarcated municipal wards in the 10-day period given by directorate of urban local bodies (ULB).

A committee, comprising officials of the ULB, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the district administration, assembled on Monday to scrutinise the issues raised by public.

Officials consented to review these issues till January 29 and incorporate any changes in demarcated wards after their assessment.

Following, this they will submit the final report to state government and pave the way for the government to notify the dates for the municipal elections that are due in March.

An official at the meeting told HT that the objections cited by residents are mostly on an individual level and there was no major opposition regarding any particular locality.

“Since the oppositions are dispersed it is unlikely that any major changes to the wards will be initiated. However, minor alterations to wards may be conducted following the review. The assessment period and consequent submission of updated wards will remain streamlined,” the senior official said.

On January 13, ULB had issued a notification on the newly demarcated municipal wards giving residents 10 days to voice their concerns, which ended on Monday.

Despite complete realignment of existing 33 of the 35 wards, the opposition has largely been muted, the MCG officials said.

Only ward 1 and ward 35 received minor changes while others witnessed a complete overhaul following demarcation.

Last month, wards were redrawn in a manner that will ensure that they do not fall under Gurgaon and Badshapur constituency. Similarly, NH-8 and railway lines served as boundaries to prevent overlapping. However, duality of localities could not be prevented.

According to sources, the 45 complaints mainly came from the localities that were divided into two wards following the demarcation. These included Sushant Lok Phase 1 and 2, Rajiv Nagar, Sector 22, Rajendra Park, Sector 17, Sector 100, Ashok Vihar and Wazirabad.

MCG elections are likely to take place in March following the directions by the Punjab and Haryana High Court last month.