On 30th October, Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP has completed its four years of governance in Haryana. These four years have been filled with ups and downs. CM Khattar attracted both criticism and praises for his governance. Khattar government was targeted on issues such as Jat agitation, Dera riots and Rampal Jailing. On the other hand, it received laurels for the development related works. One of the major success of the Khattar government is its developmental projects initiated by it to decongest Gurugram city.
One of the leading financial and industrial hub of India- Gurugram city was notorious for long traffic jams. Apart from creating noise and air pollution, it also caused unnecessary delays and stress to commuters. Before the arrival of CM Khattar at the helm of governance in Haryana, Gurugram used to be the perfect example of mismanagement. The previous government hardly paid any interest in the maintenance of the city despite the fact that it generates large amount of revenue for the state. The government instead of taking concrete steps to decongest the city, it started to rely on temporary solutions such as blocking U turns, roadblocks, etc. The whole scenario changed only after CM Khattar came in power. He took significant steps to decongest the city especially after 28-29 July 2016 Traffic Jam of Gurugram which attracted conscience of the nation. The Khattar government received scathing criticism for mismanagement of the city. The BJP government of the state led by CM Khattar took proper steps after receiving virulent criticism and started working to improve the living standard of the city.
In August 2016, Gurugram Development Authority (GDA) was constituted to introduce a new governing model for the city on the lines of Singapore or Greater London. It works in the area of urban planning, infrastructure, mobility and GIS.
One of the major challenges the Khattar government faced was the bad traffic conditions but it worked tirelessly to solve these problems. There have been multiple development projects including flyover, over bridges, underpasses etc. to decongest the city. Two newly built underpasses at Rajiv Chowk and Signature Tower on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway were inaugurated in January this year. The underpass at Rajiv Chowk has brought a big relief to the commuters crossing the expressway to go to the Sohna Road. In the same way the Signature Tower underpass has made the travelling easier for the commuters heading from Huda City Centre to Atul Kataria Chowk. The state government and NHAI worked in tandem to make possible construction of five under passes and five flyovers at Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower, Iffco Chowk and MDI Chowk in past two years. On July 24, 2017, flyover at Hero Honda Chowk was opened for the commuters. In August, last year, one of the two underpasses at the Rajiv Chowk and a flyover at the Maharana Pratap Chowk was opened for the general public. Also, last year in November, one of the three flyovers at the Iffco Chowk was inaugurated and thus brought some relief for the daily commuters.
In February this year, GMDA finalized four-lane flyover projects along with an underpass at Atul Kataria Chowk in Old Delhi-Gurugram road. They also gave their nod to a six-lane road connecting Umang Bhardwaj Chowk with Dwarka Expressway.
In May, 2018, CM Khattar inaugurated projects worth Rs. 340 crore in Gurugram. He opened Hero Honda Chowk underpass and IMT flyover for the general public. He also gave green signal to many other infrastructural projects- renovation of Atul Kataria Chowk, six sewage treatment plants, Badshahpur drain beautification, multilevel parking at sector- 29.
The Haryana government is also working on a software, ‘One Map Gurugram’ to keep an eye on encroachments, particularly on government land. CM said, “Every month, mapping will be done to check if there has been any encroachment on public land. We will also have a GMDA meeting once every three months and the second meeting will be held before the end of three months since we need to discuss the budget among other things.”
The state government with NHAI is also working on Sohna elevated road project from Subhash Chowk to Badshahpur. Once the project is completed, it will play a crucial role in reducing congestion and it will also reduce traffic jams.
In order to improve connectivity and transportation in the city, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) in their report have recommended two options for a Metro line that will connect Old Gurgaon to other parts of the city. There are many other infrastructural projects which are yet to be finished or commence, once these projects are completed they will provide a great relief to the commuters. The efforts made by CM Khattar are laudable. So much has been done, much more is still left to be done.