Civic agencies not working in unison, Faridabad suffers due to infrastructure delays

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, June 1

Despite the existence of multiple development agencies, the city is yet to get a proper system of grievance disposal. The lack of proper coordination is reported to be a cause of hurdle in the redressal of grievances in the city designated as a metropolitan one.

Officials pass the buck

Though the road has been built by the FMDA, the work of footpath(storm drain) and the lighting has to be done by the MCF and Faridabad Smart City Limited (FSCL). However, the officials concerned tend to blame each other for the delay. — Varun Sheokand, resident

Works handled by various agencies

Birender Kardam, Chief Engineer, MCF, said the issues, if any, were taken up with the authorities concerned as the civic works were handled by various agencies on a parallel basis

“There is no transparent system or plan to ensure a smooth and unhindered process to address the issues of civic infrastructure and disposal of complaints,” says Sumer Khatri, a resident. With no single agency to handle the complaints regarding water, sewage and roads, he said the distribution of work among the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), Faridabad Metropolitan Development Agency (FMDA) and the HSVP hadonly left the accountability on no one and the end users got no relief.

“I had raised the matter that there was a need of a coordinating agency for the disposal of the civic complaints with the office of the DC last year, but it failed to get any positive response,” says AK Gaur, a resident of Sector 85, here.

Describing the lack of clarity regarding job responsibility, he said the green belts carved out by the HSVP several years ago had either turned into waste dumping spots or had been encroached upon by the land mafia due to no agency designated for their upkeep.

Varun Sheokand, a resident, said the road connecting YMCA Chowk on NH-19 and the Bypass Road here had not been completed due to the work divided among the three agencies. “Though the road has been built by the FMDA, the work of footpath(storm drain) and the lighting has to be done by the MCF and Faridabad Smart City Limited (FSCL). However, the officials concerned tend to blame each other for the delay,” he says.

“The allegations of poor performance and delay in the completion of projects continue to persist despite the presence of agencies like the MCF, FMDA, FSCL and HSVP,” says Deepak Chaudhary, a former municipal councillor. He said the residents did not know whom to contact as the bulk supply of drinking water and its distribution had been handled by the two agencies (FMDA and MCF). The officials might be helpless if the problem was not in their jurisdiction, he says.

“As the upkeep of major sewage lines (above 600 mm diameter) has been with the FMDA, any problem in the main line may put the MCF in a difficult situation, said an official on the condition of anonymity. A vacuum appears in matters of accountability for the problems as there is no helpline or official who can be contacted directly,” says Ajay Bahl, a social activist.

Birender Kardam, Chief Engineer, MCF, said the issues, if any, were taken up with the authorities concerned as the civic works werehandled by various agencies on a parallel basis.