No Gurgaon in first cabinet meeting in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: The city finally hosted Haryana’s cabinet for the first time on Wednesday. But the city itself was missing from the conversation.

Days after violent wage protests by workers in nearby Manesar, and with waterlogging and traffic chaos looming ahead during monsoon, the state’s top decision-making forum met in Gurgaon only to leave its pressing local concerns untouched. Instead, the 45-minute meeting centred on the defeat of the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill in Parliament, an upcoming special assembly session and promotions for Group D employees.

The meeting, held at the PWD rest house, was chaired by chief minister Nayab Saini. Some ministers joined online.

But by the end of it, there was no discussion on the city’s civic, industrial or infrastructure problems, despite expectations that bringing the cabinet to Haryana’s economic engine would give its issues overdue attention.

Urban local bodies minister Vipul Goel, who attended the meeting, confirmed that no such civic issues related to the city were discussed. “The main agenda was the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill and issues related to Group D employees. There was no discussion related to Gurgaon. The meeting lasted only about 45 minutes,” he told TOI.

Local MLA Mukesh Sharma, who was present at the venue though not part of the cabinet, said the meeting dealt with “broader state matters”. “The meeting was good, but no Gurgaon-related issues were discussed. It was held to talk about bigger issues of Haryana,” he added.

Officials said the choice of Gurgaon as venue was driven by convenience rather than policy intent. The chief minister had other engagements, including meetings with industrialists in Delhi, and an urgent cabinet approval was needed for a special session of the assembly. “So, the cabinet meeting was organised in Gurgaon for convenience,” an official said.

The cabinet approved convening a special session of Haryana Legislative Assembly on April 27, when the govt plans to move a resolution on the Nari Shakti Vandan Bill and introduce the Haryana Clerical Services Bill, 2026, to facilitate promotions for Group D employees.

At the meeting and in a news conference that followed, Saini attacked Congress and its allies over the women’s reservation bill. He said the opposition wanted to “confine women within four walls” and claimed the developments in Parliament had exposed the “anti-women” character of Congress and its partners. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s record on women’s welfare, saying that in Haryana alone, around 1.6 lakh houses had been built over the past 11 years, helping empower women.

On employee promotions, Saini said the cabinet had agreed to frame rules for promoting Group D employees in the common cadre to clerical posts. He said those with more than five years of service would be eligible. The draft bill proposes raising the promotion quota from 20% to 30% and includes a mandatory 5% ex gratia quota.

Notably, CM Saini declined to answer questions unrelated to the bill during the media briefing.

The omission of city-specific issues stood out because the meeting had been billed as significant. Cabinet meetings are usually held in Chandigarh, with only a few in Haryana Bhavan in New Delhi. Gurgaon, which contributes a major share of the state’s revenue and houses a dense cluster of industries, multinational firms and corporate offices, had raised hopes that local concerns would finally reach the top table.

Residents said civic issues are not in short supply. Earlier this month, Gurgaon and Noida saw major protests by industrial workers demanding higher wages. In Manesar, labour unrest had sharpened the spotlight on the region’s industrial tensions. With the monsoon just over a month away, residents were also expecting discussion on chronic waterlogging and traffic snarls.