'In Gurgaon, it's a problem of plenty': New Gurgaon municipal commissioner

Vikas Yadav, who took over as the new Gurgaon municipal commissioner on Tuesday, has his task cut out - he has to manage both MCG and HUDA. His six-month stint as the municipal commissioner in neighbouring Faridabad should come in handy, as well as his experience in the Karnal municipal body. The immediate challenge for the 2003-batch IAS officer is to take the mayor and his councillors with him.The latter have been unruly in the recent past, which has prevented a bog-ticket project from being announced. He also has to look into the ambitious projects announced by predecessor Praveen Kumar.
For the time being, though, Yadav says the projects announced by the previous regime will be carried forward only if he finds merit in them. In an interaction with the media, he spoke on how he intends to approach his new job.
How do you propose to juggle the two roles assigned to you, both of which are crucial?
Dual responsibility is not new to me. I have done it before and I'm sure I can handle such a situation again. When I was posted in Karnal a few years ago, apart from handling the municipal body, I was also handling the secondary education department. I was able to manage both departments. When I joined they faced 270 contempt cases, but I was able to handle it efficiently. I intend to spend half a day in MCG and the other half in HUDA.
What is your vision for Gurgaon?
I'll implement schemes that are good for the public, and involves them. My aim would be to provide a first time resolution to whoever comes to me. I don't want the complainant to have to visit MCG again for the same issue.
How would you deal with corruption in the civic body?
I have a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. I'd be very happy if people inform me of any instance of corruption in HUDA and MCG.
How would you improve MCG's IT infrastructure?
I have been told the existing website is not very dynamic. I want IT tools to be used increasingly. For example, residents should be able to pay house tax online.
Will your past experience as municipal commissioner, Faridabad, be of help?
In MCF, there was a problem of scarcity while MCG has a problem of plenty. We need to efficiently use our funds. When I joined MCF, it had only Rs 22 lakh corpus. Six months later, when I left, it had a corpus of Rs 55 crore. I'll try to recover the pending amount from mobile tower companies and property tax.
How would you resolve the equation between elected councilors and MCG staff, which has never been great?
Elected representatives should be respected, but I'll not tolerate any political interference in the functioning of MCG.
Bandhwari's solid waste plant has been a problem for both MCG and MCF? What is the solution?
We have already served notice to the plant operator to terminate the contract. We're looking at new techniques as a temporary arrangement, even as we look for a permanent solution.