Millennium City: Minimal planning, maximum chaos

M.G. Devasahayam

A traffic-jam so long and so bad has earned Gurugram nee Gurgaon the epithet “Gurujam”. On the evening of July 28, the Millennium City was gridlocked and waterlogged. Nobody knows how much it rained in Gurgaon, because the city's only rain gauge was not working. A Met reading from nearby Palam showed just 5.8 mm of rain. It had just started raining as I boarded my flight to Chennai that evening. It might have rained more in Gurugram but certainly not that heavy to trigger the kind of nightmare in a city that houses nearly half the Fortune 500 companies.

So bad was the mess that on the morning of July 29, Gurugram police tweeted: “People coming to Gurgaon from Delhi are advised to stay back today to avoid being stuck in jams...” Obviously, because as dawn set in Rajeev Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Golf Course Road, Badshahpur, Palam Vihar, Jharsa Chowk, Sushant Lok, Pataudi Road and Manesar were found under two to five feet of water, resulting in heavy traffic jams. Spillovers spread till sectors 14, 15, 17 and 10, Khandsa Road, Sohna Road, Cyber City, Bristol Chowk, MG Road, Huda City Centre and Farrukhangar. Roads caved in near Hero Honda Chowk and on Golf Course Road, which caused major snarls. It is opined that the gridlock was due to a lack of proper drainage system in the city and the failure of Haryana, Delhi and Central governments to build alternative roads between the two cities for smoother traffic flow. The Haryana government said that Delhi had shut the gates of the Najafgarh drain, leading to the connecting Badshahpur drain filling up and preventing pumping of flood water into it. Delhi in turn said Haryana was just covering up its own follies. These at best are peripheral issues. The core issue is far deeper and sinister. 

It all started with the “privatisation” of urban development in Gurgaon in late 1970s and early 1980s, with DLF buying 3,000 acres of agricultural land at very cheap rates to build a “world-class” city with “high-rise-high-density” development. As the then Haryana's Director, Town  and Country Planning (DTCP) cum Chief Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), I  had moved in from the post of MD, Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC). Since Gurgaon and Faridabad were hotspots for urbanisation, I made a rapid assessment of these outlying towns of the capital Delhi. The conclusion on Gurgaon was simple — the area had no natural drainage and very poor water resources, thereby making it unfit for any major city development, particularly “high-rise-high-density”. Besides, my stint in HSIDC also informed me that this area was not suitable for energy-guzzling industrial/commercial development. 

In the event, Haryana government had no intention of allowing private “colonisation,” since HUDA was capable of managing the “low-rise-low-density” development in Gurgaon. But then the political chemistry in Haryana changed, with the “Delhi Durbar” taking up the cause of DLF to make Gurgaon into a "world-class super-city"! To facilitate this, sometime in mid-1980, I was eased out of the job with the kind of sophistication only Chief Minister Bhajan Lal was capable of. One fine morning, he invited me for breakfast at his residence and politely told me that I was being shifted to the “bigger” Transport Department which was a three-in-one job as State Transport Controller, Transport Authority and Head of Haryana Roadways. In quick time I was out. Soon thereafter in 1981, the first “private” license was given and the “DLF City” came up. In 1985, DLF started plotted development. Other realtors joined in and there was no stopping Gurgaon from morphing into a “monster city”, in the process destroying every vestige of town planning, urbanism, environment and sustainability. According to the founder-president of the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PK Jain, “Gurgaon is a symbol of big buildings. Otherwise it's rubbish…Ultimately, the town is going to collapse.” In the mad pursuit to become a “Global City”, no thought was spared for water resources and drainage. Buildings look like monsters. The city "steals" the national grid's massive electricity to maintain its glitter, yet most of them run on highly polluting “diesel energy”. It is an island of concrete and glass everywhere, adding to heat-island effect leading to climate change. Every green space is being preyed upon by the greedy. 

The Expressway, exclusively for car-owners, serves as the worst example of infrastructure/road development. Posh markets/malls cater only to high-end consumers. Informal labour lives a despicable life. No decent schools, colleges or formal housing exist for the poor. Small-time entertainment, eating or outing avenues for poor or lower-middle class citizens have not been thought of. A government hospital or a dispensary is a rarity. Not one prudent town planning norm has been adhered to. Gurgaon is a true urban cauldron developed for the elite, by the elite, of the elite that have devastated the national capital and its environs — a standing testimony as to how urbanisation should not be done in India. The sole consideration was vulgar real estate, property “development” with the purpose of raking in billions. This has intensified in recent times. The modus operandi has been simple. Under the Land Acquisition Act HUDA and HSIDC have powers to acquire land under Section 4 and Section 6 through the issuance of notifications, while the award of license is under Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, amended several times. "Developers" who are unable to persuade farmers to sell their land, seek government assistance. Section 4 is invoked with the notification that the government requires those specific parcels of land for “public purpose”. “Developers” move in and enter into agreements to sell/collaborate with landowners, offering them a modest premium over the government's prevailing compensation rate. If landowners still resist, Section 6 is imposed, declaring the State's intention to acquire the land. This forces them to enter into agreements. “Developers” then apply for licenses to the DTCP, Haryana, in collaboration with the landowners. As part of pre-arranged game, Section 4 and 6 are withdrawn and land is released from acquisition. A perfect fraud by the state.

Such coup d'état by property sharks has been made possible because of the concentration of the portfolios of DTCP, the licensing arm, HUDA, the government's real estate developer and HSIDC, the industrial promotion wing under the Chief Minister.  With complete control over all land deals in the state, reportedly in a span of six years, the former chief minister made a staggering 54,000 acres of land available for residential, commercial and industrial use through the notification of three successive master plans for Gurgaon. Customisation of land development and crucial changes in land use have played an important role in the land-to-gold story of many real estate companies. This is a loot of humongous proportions, dwarfing all other scams making the round in Delhi.

With just about 10 mm of rains, there is deluge. With some more the city may drown. The centuries-old expression that “curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost” has come true. Pray, who is to pay for the colossal sins?

The writer, an IAS officer, is a former MD, HSIDC and Chief Administrator, HUDA.