Lets get Gurgaon to clean up its act

Gurgaon has a myriad problems, of which one is the lack of cleanliness. Lets do something about it.

1. The responsibility of getting the roads and streets swept, and garbage collected and disposed of is distributed between the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) and HUDA. While the jurisdiction of MCG mainly includes the rural habitations that dot Gurgaon, the rest of Gurgaon falls within the HUDA jurisdiction. MCG has a website (  http://www.mcg.gov.in/  ) that clearly spells out its jurisdiction, HUDA does not. That is, HUDA makes no attempt to inform the citizens of Gurgaon as to which sectors/neighbourhoods fall within its jurisdiction so far as sanitation is concerned.

2. From what I have been able to gather from the MCG website, newspaper reports and discussions with citizens who have made efforts to improve sanitation levels in Gurgaon, ALL work related to sweeping/cleaning of roads and collection/disposal of garbage has been outsourced by both MCG and HUDA. In the case of MCG, all information regarding the organisations to which such work has been awarded, as well as a copy of the contract, is available on the website. No such information is available for HUDA.

3. If the contactor does not satisfactorily discharge his duties, and a citizen lodges an online complaint on the MCG website, the contractor is bound by the contract to take remedial action within a stipulated time period, or face a deduction in the amount paid to him. For HUDA, there is no such facility for registering complaints.

4. So, if I wish that HUDA would take action regarding a particular road/street not having been swept, or gabage not having been removed from a particular spot, I have NO information regarding whom to complain to, and within what period to expect a response.

5. If we want, as conscientious citizens, to get HUDA to clean up Gurgaon, we FIRST have to ensure that all the relevant information is easily available, especially on a website. I have therefore sent a letter to the HUDA Administartor, and request you all to do the same ----- remember the "ek chidiya" jingle?

6. The letter that I have sent (duly received in HUDA office on 22nd August, 2012) is as below -----please feel free to modify/amend.

To

The Administrator

HUDA
HUDA Complex
Sector 14

Gurgaon

20^th August, 2012

Dear Administrator,

I write on behalf of a 2000 strong group of Gurgaon residents who are frustrated and disgusted by the utter lack of cleanliness in the city and wish to help improve sanitation in the city. However, we are handicapped by the complete lack of information regarding the arrangements that HUDA has made for sweeping of roads & streets and collection & removal of garbage.

While such information in respect of the areas under the jurisdiction of MCG is available in a transparent manner on the MCG website, and there is even an efficient mechanism for registration of complaints and their quick redressal, in the case of HUDA areas, the citizen is left to grope in the dark. May I request that all information regarding the arrangements that HUDA has made for sweeping of roads& streets and collection & removal of garbage be QUICKLY and URGENTLY uploaded on the HUDA website? If no website for HUDA Gurgaon exists, as seems to be the case, we would appreciate the information being uploaded on the MCG website. 

At the very minimum, we request that the following information be (1) uploaded on the HUDA website and (2) provided to us at the address mentioned below:

1. Which areas/neighbourhoods/sectors/colonies fall within the jurisdiction of HUDA for the purpose of making sanitation arrangements?
2. What are the sanitation arrangements that HUDA has made? Please specify the arrangements for cleaning & sweeping of roads and streets, and for collection & removal of garbage.
3. If these arrangements involve HUDA employees, please specify (1) their duties, hours of work (3) supervisory officer for lodging a complaint. Please provide this information for each area/sector/colony under HUDA’s jurisdiction.
4. If such arrangements involve a private contractor, please (1) provide a copy of the contract (2) name of the supervisory officer for lodging a complaint. Please provide this information for each area/sector/colony under HUDA’s jurisdiction.
5. Please specify the TOTAL amount spent in each of the last 5 years, and the current year, on sweeping/cleaning roads and streets, and collecting/removing garbage.
6. If there is any ongoing initiative for involving citizen monitoring of the sanitation arrangements, please provide details.

We are prepared to launch a signature campaign to prove our earnestness in obtaining this information, with the objective of sharing it among Gurgaon citizens, and helping HUDA do a better job of keeping the city clean by involving citizens in monitoring of the sanitation arrangements.

JAI HIND

thanks and regards

Priya VK Singh