10 hours ago
High-tension tower, hillock: Why Gurgaon's new sectors could be flooded this year too
Gurgaon: It's the same cycle every year. "We dread the rains." That is how Jaswant Rao, RWA president of Astaire Garden, sums up the situation revolving around the long-delayed leg-IV.
Six years after it got the administrative approval, Leg-IV — planned to ease flooding in new sectors — has hit a wall, quite literally.
A 100-metre hillock stands in the way of connecting the drain, while a high-tension power tower in Sector 70 is yet to be relocated. Both obstacles have brought the construction to a crawl, which is already running behind schedule.
The drain, once completed, will stretch 5.2km from Vatika Chowk to NH8 and is expected to offload nearly 50% of the burden on the Badshapur drain — the city's main stormwater channel — while benefiting sectors 68 to 80.
But its progress was slow from the beginning, and now with these two obstructions, residents are concerned as the monsoon is just days away from lashing the city.
A senior GMDA official said, "A hillock near Sector 75 is coming in the drain alignment. We initiated the dismantling process in April this year for which tendering is underway. Similarly, we have written to HVPNL to shift the high-tension tower in Sector 70.
The matter is being followed up." GMDA is aiming to complete the project by the end of this year, he said.
The drain passes through new sectors, including sectors 69, 70, 75 and 75A, which have seen extensive residential and commercial development over the years but remain vulnerable to waterlogging due to inadequate drainage.
Jaswant Rao says, "Now that the monsoon is around the corner, the work will get hampered again.
We dread the rains because we are the worst sufferers — our society (Astaire Garden) is low-rise and not just the roads but even our basement gets flooded during heavy downpours. We have been waiting for proper drainage connectivity for the past eight years."
The Rs 105-crore project got administrative approval in May 2019, but it remained stuck in planning and coordination stages for nearly three years. Tendering finally began in 2022 and physical work started only in April 2023 with the original deadline of Oct 2024.
Earlier, GMDA attributed the initial delays to external constraints such as the monsoon and the annual construction ban imposed from Nov to Jan due to air pollution norms.
Ajay Sharma, a resident of Tulip Ivory in Sector 70, said flooding during pre-monsoon showers this month was a wake-up call.
"Waterlogging was seen not only on SPR but also on sector roads. Tulip Chowk was submerged last week," Sharma said.
"This project has already taken too long — how much more time do they need? It's becoming increasingly problematic," Sharma asked.
With only 50% of work completed more than two years after construction began, residents worry that the city's response is reactive rather than preventive. Many argue that key infrastructure like drainage should have been in place before granting large-scale residential licences in the area.
Last month, a portion of SPR caved in after heavy rainfall, compounded by ongoing excavation work for the drainage project.
