Hooda accuses BJP of failing Gurugram, says waterlogging, potholes turn Millennium City into ‘Sink City’

Senior Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda on Wednesday attacked the BJP government over Gurugram's recurring waterlogging, potholes and alleged civic failures, accusing the ruling dispensation of turning the “Millennium City” into a “Millennium Pity”, “Sink City” and “Gurujam”.

Hooda alleged that despite Gurugram generating huge revenues and being home to multiple government agencies, the BJP has failed to provide basic drainage and civic infrastructure, while also questioning the accountability of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).

Addressing a press conference here, the Rohtak MP said the condition of Gurugram had become an annual reminder of the government's failure, accusing BJP leaders of adding “insult to injury” whenever the city faced waterlogging and flooding.

“Gurgaon became Gurugram, Gurugram became ‘Gurujam’, ‘Jalgram’ and ‘Gaddhagram’,” Hooda said, referring to the traffic congestion, waterlogging and potholes that he claimed have become synonymous with the city.

Hooda recalled that former Haryana Chief Minister and Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had stated in a written reply in Parliament last year, in response to a question raised by him, that Gurugram did not face problems related to major civic infrastructure. He contrasted this with recent remarks by a Union minister attributing the city's problems to the “legacy of the Congress era”.

“This is unfortunate,” Hooda said, alleging that the BJP had been in power for years but had failed to resolve Gurugram's fundamental civic problems.

The Congress leader also alleged widespread irregularities in the name of cleanliness and drainage works, claiming that large sums allocated for civic services were being misused. He further criticised the government's response to recurring waterlogging, alleging that crores were spent every year on call centres asking stranded residents to report traffic jams and flooding, while “no one even picks up the phone”.

Hooda also targeted Gurugram MP and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, saying he had been part of governments at the Centre for 22 years, including 10 years under the UPA and 12 years under the BJP, but the city's drainage system remained unresolved.

Hooda also criticised Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini over his reported remarks that floods occur even in California, alleging that the government was unwilling to answer questions on Gurugram's civic crisis. He said Congress leaders who protested with black flags were instead taken into custody.

Listing the party's demands, Hooda called for a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) investigation into the collection and utilisation of thousands of crores of rupees from Gurugram residents. He demanded that accountability be fixed for all three major civic agencies—GMDA, MCG and HSVP.

Hooda further demanded an expansion of the city's metro network, claiming that the Congress government had built 33 km of metro in six years, whereas no metro work had progressed in Gurugram in the last 12 years.