GMDA serves notices on 40 firms for not maintaining green belts in Gurugram

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has issued notices to at least 40 real estate and other companies for having failed to maintain and develop the green belts assigned to them under the corporate social responsibility.

The Adviser and Head of Urban Environment Division of the GMDA, Hardeep Singh Malik, said he had served a 30-day notice to these companies to start developing the green belts assigned to them and maintain them regularly.

He has also asked the errant companies to send their personal representatives to his office within one week of the receipt of notice and submit a reply.

He said these companies went into an agreement with the GMDA for the maintenance and development of green belts under the corporate social responsibility but various field inspection reports found that the greenbelts allotted to them were either not developed or maintained properly.

He further said notices were previously also given to a few companies in December last year. They all have started the work to develop and maintain the green belts. “I hope that these companies will also take up their responsibility and begin the work as per the MoU signed with us,” Malik said.

As per the documents available with The Tribune, a notice has also been served upon DLF Foundation, a subsidiary of real estate giant DLF Company. The DLF has failed to develop and maintain the green belts on both sides of the road dividing sectors 56 and 58 and also the central verge, as per the notice.

“The MoU with DLF Foundation will be cancelled and the road will be allotted to another company or the green belts maintenance will be done by GMDA,” the notice added.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the GMDA signed an MoU with 127 companies for the maintenance of green belts along the roads. After this, these companies gave contracts of maintenance of the green belts to one ‘favourite’ contractor. As such, all these companies centralised the works of maintenance of green belts along the roads with the consent of the GMDA officials for the reasons best known to them. No matter, some companies released funds for the maintenance of green belts but the work was not executed at the ground level.

Further, it has come to light that many green belts along major roads and inter-sections were leased out to liquor contractors to set-up huge liquor shops, ahatas, unauthorised parking and kiosks to sell water, soda, cold drinks, confectionery items etc. These liquor shops are operating on green belts for the past many years.

Moreover, thousands of encroachments have come over the past couple of years on the green belts and roadsides being maintained by the GMDA, NHAI, MC and also the state’s Public Works Department. No effective steps were being taken to remove the encroachments.