The great Gurgaon disconnect

A city gets the roads it deserves. Gurgaon’s potential for growth is phenomenal. But, for people to reach their workstations, the administration must ensure the traffic moves at a good clip and that vehicles are not waylaid by massive potholes.
These are not insurmountable problems, nor is it too late in the day. With some commonsense, application and discipline on the part of the authorities as well as the commuters, Gurgaon could be made into a navigable city.
A drive down an eight-lane dual carriageway brings up the vision of a tabletop of lights flooding the sylvan greens of an Arnold Palmer golf course.Here a hard days work ends with cradling a 5-iron followed by sipping single malt in a Hafeez Contractor-designed clubhouse outside which are parked cars that cost as much as a small apartment.
But as the beams of headlamps bob toward the golf course, they torturously avoid craters that pockmark the blacktop, invisible along the dark street. Hidden along the road are stories of a state failure, unplanned development and civic neglect.
This is a mess residents have put up with for decades. While earlier inhabitants may be excused for thinking it was work in progress, now it is amply clear that it is a connectivity problem. The lack of connectivity, that is, between what is needed and the institutions meant to provide them. Gurgaon administrators appear to have embarked without a blueprint or a roadmap on a dream journey.
For most Gurgaon residents, the dream of a cosmopolitan existence is only partly fulfilled. There is a wide spread to choose from, whether for the palatte or the wardrobe. If the supermarkets and the speciality restaurants are any indicator, the Gurgaon residents tastebuds’ savor a wide range from the Korean to the Keralite. His or her wardrobes reflect the labels that for long have been associated with travels to London and New York.
But under this epidermis of gloss, survival for most is a struggle. Taps are dry, sewage lines incomplete, garbage has nowhere to go to and power on the best days is erratic. And of course, there’s the crater-filled road and the choked toll gate. What’s worse, nobody is listening.
Day after day, residents and RWAs cry hoarse about civic apathy. Dependent only on farm votes, the MLAs dont care and the new municipal corporation pleads helplessness, saying it is strapped for cash and manpower.
Heavy rains have provided a convenient fog to hide behind. There is no explanation for why surfaces dont last for more than a few weeks. Nor is there any response to demand for more public transport within Gurgaon or the lack of parking areas. These issues don’t require Harvard Business School solutions. A drive around the satellite town throws up easy answers. But these are answers planners remain blind to.
Is this economic powerhouse that brings in half of Haryana’s revenues and houses an IT sector worth Rs 15,000 crore doomed to a mofussil existence? This is the place from where residents fly out to Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York more often than they go to Connaught Place or Khan Market. But what a harsh reality they come back to each time.