Latest revision as of 08:14, 7 August 2022

Jharsabandh; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Oct 26 2015

[edit] Agriculture

[edit] 2000- 17: agricultural cover, forest land decline

Agricultural cover declines in Gurugram, May 20, 2018: The Hindu

Land use-cover statistics of Gurugram district (2000-17)
From: Agricultural cover declines in Gurugram, May 20, 2018: The Hindu

Thanks to rapid urbanisation, Gurugram district has witnessed a decrease of 9.9% and 29.9 % in the total agricultural cover and forest land respectively, says a recent study by an agri-insurance company on land use cover over a period of 17 years.

Gurugram had about 86,362.5 hectare of agricultural land and 14,394.6 hectare forest cover in 2000. The Land Use Land Cover (LULC) mapping spread over the past 17 years shows an alarming decrease in agricultural land, forest area and scrubland. Results exhibit that about 77,806.54 hectare land is left for agriculture and about 10,077.5 hectare covers forests. Scrubland, too, decreased from 6,967.89 hectare to 5,606.06 hectare during this period.

Satellite images

The mapping was conducted by Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS), an agri-insurance company.

Satellite images from Landsat 4-5 were used to make a LULC map of Gurugram for 2000 and 2009, and images from Sentinel 2 were used for the LULC map of Gurugram for 2017.

WRMS senior manager Sandeep Kaushik said need for buildings had rampantly increased in Gurugram and the government must not allow use of cultivable land for construction purpose.

Big projects

The LULC shows that the total built-up area was about 10,390.8 hectare in 2000 compared to 13,516.6 in 2018. About 30% of change in the land patterns due to construction of big projects has led Gurugram to such a position.

“This is saddening, we are heading to something disastrous. If this continues, we will be left with no agricultural land and there will be no production of crop to feed our ever-growing population,” said WRMS co-founder and director Anuj Kumbhat.

Fall in waterbodies

Haryana, which has the second lowest forest cover in India, has also reported 24 % decrease of waterbodies within the forest area as compared to 2005. This signifies that forests are becoming drier as well, which raises concerns for wildlife.

Environment analyst Chetan Agarwal said, “The decline of 29.9 % in 17 years is a massive loss of forest cover in the district. In the same period, the population of Gurugram has more than doubled. So per capita forest cover is falling even more dramatically. All current patches must be declared as official forests. Areas where forest cover has been lost should be examined acre by acre, and if land conversion is illegal, then the forest should be restored. Special focus should be on areas important to maintain connectivity of forests for wildlife movement.”

[edit] Baandhs (groves)

[edit] Jharsabaandh

The Times of India, Oct 26 2015 Sharad Kohli

In Gurgaon's concrete jungle, an oasis reared by its people

The Jharsabaandh, which occupies an expanse of around 5km in the middle of town, is one of around 15 baandhs in the city, many of them calling out for urgent restoration.This is a protected forest, with Sector 15 (Part I) on one side and Civil Lines and Officers Colony on the other. Earlier, HUDA was in charge of the baandh's upkeep. From March 2015, the MCG took over. In association with the city agencies, residents here have been looking after the baandh for many years -for example, by getting a sprinkler system installed to ensure a generous cover of grass.

The baandh was all jungle back in 2000.“People were scared of buying a plot here.“ Now, a lit footpath allows walkers fresh air and exercise in the mornings and evenings.But pigs and monkeys are a menace, as are litterbugs and encroachers.

Otherwise, the baandh is a quiet place. There is here a preponderance of kikar and the messy `papdi' tree, which has a habit of shedding leaves in every season.But one can also get to see the `kaner' shrub, with its red and yellow flowers, the ficus tree and some palms (and also the odd ashoka).

[edit] Carterpuri

[edit] 1978, 2020

Siddharth Tiwari, February 23, 2020: The Times of India

1 Kartar Singh Baghel (80), who was a postmaster during Jimmy Carter’s visit in January 1978, shows a collection of photographs that he has treasured for years
From: February 23, 2020: The Times of India

Kartar Singh Baghel doesn’t need the news to know an American president is visiting India. Journalists seeking out village seniors for their account of the day in January 1978 when ‘Carterpuri’ was born usually get directed to him.

And Singh never disappoints. His memory, at the age of 80, may not be photographic. But he has enough photographs of Jimmy Carter’s visit to help with the reminiscence.

As India-US relations have become better and better, a sudden surge in interest in Baghel’s house has been like a fiveyear ritual since 2000 when Bill Clinton came to India, followed by George W Bush (2006), Barack Obama (2010 and 2015) and now Donald Trump.

“Village elders know here. Every time there is interest in Carterpuri, be assured that a US president is visiting India,” Baghel says. Jimmy Carter and the First Lady visited Carterpuri in January 1978 because of a connection — Carter’s mother had served in the village as a nurse of the Red Cross society. The words flow quick and easy from Baghel’s mouth, like a twice told tale.

The village in Gurgaon’s Palam Vihar, 40km from Delhi and now in the middle of a metropolis, has not, however, transformed like its surroundings. Ringed by Gurgaon’s modern urban sectors, Carterpuri is an island where big real estate and the bandwagon that comes with it hasn’t washed up. Its journey from 1978 has been slow.

A signboard on a bumpy road divides Sector 23A and Carterpuri. The narrow labyrinth leads to a panchayat room where people have gathered for years to listen to the radio every time a US President has visited India. With a day to go for Donald Trump’s India visit, young residents of Carterpuri couldn’t care less. But it’s people like Baghel, and a few others of his times, who take this as an excuse to travel back 40 years down the line.

These old-timers lament that little remains of Carterpuri’s sudden fame apart from a few dusty pictures of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter dressed in local attire. The village was then called Daulatpur Naseerabad. “Young people hardly show any interest in listening to our stories. The government, too, has not done anything substantial to preserve the history of this village. At least a statue of President Carter could have been built, leave alone colleges and hospitals,” says Malkan Singh Yadav, the current panchayat pradhan.

Yadav, then a school-going teenager, recollects the days that led to the birth of Carterpuri. “The high-profile tour, termed homecoming, was marked by a special convoy of government vehicles, policemen in horseback, special intelligence agencies doing security checks a week in advance and almost every villager willing to feed the president local delicacies.”

Baghel, then the local postmaster who was responsible for all correspondence with the US embassy, digs out an old file. There are laminated photographs, newspaper cutouts and letters written by Carter himself, thanking villagers for the “warmth” shown to him. “It was nothing short of a weeklong festival. The pre-visit discussions, euphoria surrounding the visit, and the sweet remembrance of days lingered on for weeks. People started following every news item on Carterpuri as we got ready to welcome him. He was a man of grace and politeness. His wife was equally warm and mingled freely with the villagers,” he says.

After Carter’s 1978 visit, the fanfare and euphoria stayed on for a year at least. The villagers celebrated a first anniversary of the visit and even invited the US ambassador. But things faded after that.

[edit] Mall Mile

[edit] How residents are transforming it

Shubhra Pant, How residents are joining hands to transform Gurgaon Mall Mile, May 11, 2017: The Times of India

MG Road, Gurgaon; Shubhra Pant, How residents are joining hands to transform Gurgaon Mall Mile, May 11, 2017: The Times of India

“My objective is to turn this place into something like Lutyens' Delhi,“ says Archana Saxena, who is piloting a unique community initiative to reclaim the city's famous Mall Mile from the hands of encroachers.

Saxena has joined hands with residents of other societies along MG Road to create a forum that brings together the government, police, RWAs and other stakeholders to clean up Gurgaon's most famous address, which is as much a symbol of the Haryana government's civic failures as it is of Gurgaon's success as a brand.

The stretch of MG Road between Sikanderpur Metro station and Iffco Chowk has eight malls, earning it the `Mall Mile' moniker and a reputation as one of NCR's most popular shopping and hangout destinations. Yet, walking or driving on the road is an unpleasant experience because, true to the way Gurgaon has developed, private enterprise has not been adequately backed up by government initiative.

Besides the occasional anti-encroachment drive, the MCG has largely stood by as service lanes have fallen to parking for autos, cabs and rickshaws, pavements have been consumed by hawkers, or crumbled where they haven't. Cramped for space, traffic jams on the weekends and during office hours are routine.

“As of now, around 10,000 residents living in different condominiums have to bear with this situation,“ Saxena, who lives in The Heritage City , told TOI. She and other residents have been reaching out to more people in their neighbourhood to participate in the exercise to clean up MG Road. The group then started approaching civic officials to motivate them to take up the cause, one issue at a time.They have also sent a complaint to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

“We wrote to the PMO seeking its intervention in various problems, including traffic, drug sales, illegal parking and flesh trade on the stretch. The complaint was forwarded to the police commission er a month and a half ago, seeking a report,“ said Capt Amarvir Singh, who also lives in The Heritage City .

Rajeev Sinha, RWA president of Essel Towers, added, “MG Road has a number of malls and it should be a place where people should be happy and relaxed. Our idea is to convert it into a hassle-free place for residents, commuters and visitors.“

Over the past three months, residents have managed to get permission for installation of bollards on the road outside MGF Metropolitan Mall to help stream line traffic. The Heritage City also expects an approval for an emergency exit, which can be used if the service lanes are clogged, to come through soon.

Saxena says she is now trying to reach out to residents of neighbouring Sushant Lok-1.“Citizens have to come together if we want things to change around us. Hence, I am reaching out to as many residents as I can,“ she said.

MCG had also recently announced it will revamp the Mall Mile and develop it into a “smart road“, free of encroachments and illegal parking. Various other plans and drives have been conducted in the past as well. However, the situation on the ground remains the same more or less.

MCG commissioner V Umashankar said public support is essential for the corporation to succeed in cleaning up the road. “I am not personally aware of such an initiative but we have under GMDA (Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority, an agency that will be formed very soon) made a provision for anyone to come and sign an MoU for revamp and beautification of MG Road,“ he said. Police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said police had been carrying out multiple drives to check traffic and illegal parking problems. “Similar drives are also being carried out for checking the sale of drugs as well,“ he said.

[edit] Name

[edit] Origin of the renaming

The Times of India, Apr 14 2016

Sukhbir Siwach

Org Has Been At It Since 1988; RWAs Kept Out Of The Loop

Among the various organisations the Haryana government says petitioned it for changing Gurgaon's name to Gurugram is Sanskar Bharti, a cultural outfit affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The Gurgaon-based outfit has been demanding a name change of the city since 1988.Deputy commissioner T L Satyaprakash said besides Sanskar Bharti, Shri Mata Sheetla Devi Shrine Board and municipal councillors of Gurgaon had been demanding that the Millennium City's name be changed to Gurugram.

While announcing the name change on April 12, a Haryana government spokesperson had indicated it was the outcome of popular demand, saying several forums had made representations in its favour. A day later, with several RWAs saying they had nothing to do with it, the picture on who actually drove the name-change exercise became clearer.

Sanskar Bharti, for instance, has been mentioning Gurgaon as Gurugram on its letterheads since 1988 when the organization became active in Haryana. “It has been our old demand,“ said Ajay Singhal, who was an associate of the Sanskar Bharti for 17 years and was appointed director of Haryana Kala Parishad around two months ago. “We had put the demand before the chief minister in October 2014.We are happy ,“ he added.

Singhal also gave Sanskar Bharti credit for the nomenclature of Guru Dronacharya Metro station. The MCG's political wing also played its role.A House resolution was passed in August 2014 demanding renaming of Gurgaon.

“Not only R-S-S-affiliated organizations but many gram panchayats, RWAs and social organizations have been demanding the same,“ claimed Jawahar Yadav, a close aide of the CM and chairman of the state housing board.

The heads of two promi nent RWAs TOI spoke to said neither had they approached the government, nor had the government sought their opinion. “There was absolutely no need to change the name.The government should have sought public opinion,“ said VS Rana of Sector 23. “One can understand if it was done following an uproar or agitation. But there was none,“ said Rajinder Tehlan of Sector 21.

Politically, though, BJP can hardly be accused of playing the name game all by itself. A proposal to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram was first made by the Congress government of Bhajan Lal in 1992. Bhajan Lal's son and Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi on Monday welcomed the BJP's government's move.

Haryana revenue Captain Abhimanyu, whose department is presiding over the name change, termed the move a “correction of the aberration“. He also chose to link Gurgaon's past with mythology “It was a demand of the ge neral public. And the government consciously feels the time has come to position Gurgaon as a global city and connect it with its roots,“ Abhimanyu said.

Additional chief secretary (revenue) Dalip Singh said he had forwarded the proposal, sent by Satyaprakash last month, to the government after various organizations approached the district administration.

[edit] 2016: Respelling Gurgaon as Gurugram

The Times of India, Apr 13 2016

Gurugrammar logic is based on mythology

RaoJaswantSingh

 The logic used to change Gurgaon's name to Gurugram is questionable.

Noted historian KC Yadav told TOI it is very difficult to give a stamp of approval on the state government's theory that the city was the land of Guru Dronacharya. He said there are actually two theories behind Gurgaon's name, but none could be verified as there is no contemporary material available.

“As per one theory , the (village) land was given to Guru Dronacharya and therefore it got its name as Gurugram (guru's village) and the second theory is that nomads used to hoard jaggery (gur) in the village in order to survive hard times during floods in the adjoining Yamuna river,“ said Yadav, who specialises in the history of Haryana.

Early mention of Gurgaon comes during the 1857 revolt when people of Gurgaon extended support to Bahadur Shah Zafar; Even during Akbar's reign, Badshapur and Jharsa were more important than Gurgaon as it was not even an administrative unit, according to him. “Gurgaon became known due to Sheetla Mata temple and a small ammunition de pot, but as far as its historical importance is concerned, there are no verifiable facts and only based on traditions,“ Yadav said.

Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, who is a descendant of freedom fighter Rao Tula Ram of India's 1st war of independence in 1857, also said it is not known as when the city became Gurgaon from Gurugram. “During British rule, it was called as Gurgaon and it was the corrupt form of Gurugram, but no exact dates are available in this regard,“ he added.

The Manohar Lal Khattar government renamed Gurgaon as Gurugram and adjoining Mewat as Nuh, saying Haryana is a historic land of the Bhagwad Gita and Gurgaon had been a centre of learning since the times of Guru Dronacharya, the teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata.

[edit] Changed to Gurugram: Official

It's official. Ggn is now Gurugram, Sukhbir Siwach, Nov 05 2016 : The Times of India

Gurgaon is now officially Gurugram. The Haryana government on 4 Nov 2016 issued a formal notification on the name change, the final step in changing the city's identity.“

The governor of Haryana is pleased to change the name of Gurgaon as Gurugram in Haryana ...,“ mentioned the notification issued by additional chief secretary (revenue) Kesni Anand Arora. The city will be referred to as Gurugram in all government and official records henceforth.

Soon after issuing the notification, the authorities also sent a copy of the document to Gurgaon deputy commissioner TL Satyaprakash, The deputy commissioner has been also asked to take immediate steps to change the name in official records.

[edit] Nightclubs

[edit] 2018: 66% are in ‘sex trade’

Bagish Jha, 10 of 15 nightclubs on Ggn’s Mall Mile face closure for ‘sex trade’, July 30, 2018: The Times of India

MG Road’s Mall Mile, the first major nightlife hotspot to come up in Delhi-NCR, is in big trouble. In a massive crackdown following reports of “illegal activities”, Gurgaon police has withdrawn the no-objection certificates (NOCs) it had issued to 10 of the 15 nightclubs in the area.

Police have also recommended to the excise department that the licences of these clubs be cancelled. Fearing closure, the owners and employees of these clubs on Sunday protested on MG Road, alleging that police were biased against clubs on this stretch.

The clubs that have had their NOCs revoked are Prisom, Ipsa, Odysee, Sydey and Ignite in Sahara Mall; King and Ion in JMD Regent Arcade Mall; and Empire, Queen and Phantom in MGF Metropolitan Mall.

The action follows police raids earlier in the month on several clubs on Mall Mile. On July 4, cops had arrested seven people, including two nightclub owners from two malls — Sahara and MGF — for their alleged involvement in sex trade, after a midnight raid on Phantom and Ignite. On July 19, another nightclub, Ion in JMD Regent Arcade, was raided and four people arrested, including two of the club’s dancers, again on charges of sex trade.

Ggn club owners protest against police action

In a letter to the excise department recommending cancellation of licences, police wrote: “Residents of adjoining societies and public in general have raised objections against the clubs functioning in Sahara, JMD Regent Arcade and MGF Metropolitan malls on MG Road, for their regular involvement in illegal activities. Three criminal cases have also been registered against three clubs for their involvement in prostitution. Keeping in view public interest, NOCs issued by police have been withdrawn with immediate effect, and cancellation of licences of these clubs is recommended.”

Club owners and employees hit the streets protesting the police action. They claimed they were being harassed even after paying hefty taxes and fees. “The NOC was withdrawn just three months after both our licence and NOC were renewed. What has changed in the last three months?” asked a club owner.

Club owners alleged that cops come to their clubs frequently to make recordings, which was affecting their business. “Every club has several CCTV cameras. They can take as many recordings as they want from these. But police make their own recordings to intimidate patrons,” said Vijay Pal, owner of Ignite and president of MG Road Club Association.

Pal denied any immoral activities at MG Road malls, and claimed that prostitution was going on at various guesthouses and societies, where girls can be seen soliciting at different parts of the city to lure customers. “But cops only target MG Road clubs,” said Pal. He added that the closure of the clubs would leave around 700 people jobless.

Gurgaon police commissioner K K Rao said there were 250-300 clubs in the city, but only MG Road residents had been complaining about sex trade, while people in others parts of the city had no issues with clubs in their neighbourhoods.

Police, he said, were withdrawing the NOCs they had given in the best interest of the public. “We’ve already written to the excise department for cancellation of licences of these clubs,” said Rao, adding that cancellation of the licences, issued on the basis of NOCs, was now a “forgone conclusion”.

Rao also said police were looking into legal ways of sealing the premises of these clubs, and were taking the opinion of officials. “We can also seal the premises. We’re studying ways to do it,” he said.

Deputy excise and taxation commissioner (east) Snehlata Yadav confirmed that she had received the request for cancellation of licences from police. “We’ve sent it to our headquarters in Panchkula for further action,” said Yadav.

[edit] Power/ electricity

[edit] 14% comes from diesel gensets

The Times of India Dec 21 2015

Bagish Jha

Gurgaon

The summer of 2016 is likely to be crueller than its predecessor, but may prove kinder on power cuts if the government keeps its word.

Faced with the sobering statistic that nearly 14% of powerguzzling New Gurgaon's electricity load is borne by diesel gensets because of outages, the administration has prepared an action plan to reduce dependence on backup power within the next six months.

“In the next six months, we are trying to make areas like DLF phases 1 to 5 and Sushant Lok I, which use the most generators, free from power cuts by improving infrastructure under the zero-outage project,“ said Vinay Pratap Singh, additio nal deputy commissioner and special officer of the project.

He said the government is concerned about increasing air pollution in Gurgaon.Singh said curbs on use of generators would be imposed if the government can guarantee little or no outages. Singh admitted power infrastructure in New Gurgaon, most of which has been privately developed, is weak, forcing RWAs to buy gensets to deal with blackouts. Cutting down outages will certainly help reduce air pollution as gensets produce around 80.75MW power on an average daily in New Gurgaon alone, according to the power department. The av erage daily power shortfall in the area is around 103MW .

A 2013 Central Pollution Control Board study had found that diesel generators contribute 6% of PM 2.5 particles and 10% of PM 10 particles in Delhi and its neighbouring cities.

Environmentalist Jitendra Bhadana said, “Today , most commercial or residential facilities in the city own diesel generators. Its use has gone up in recent times due to frequent power cuts, thereby further polluting the environment.“

District pollution officer, Balraj Singh said, “Carbon emission in Gurgaon is high mainly due to the use of diesel for power backup. Diesel emits carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and particulate matter.“